Growing Up Jedi: Book Four: Playing Sides
by CardiacCane
Summary: This is the fourth book in the 'Growing up Jedi series.' The adventures of Padawan Sascha Whitestar continue! As Padawan Sascha Whitestar grows ever more confident in himself, the galaxy around him grows darker as the Jedi Order is threatened from an increasing number of enemies. Sascha and friends will have to grow up fast! Chapters posted every Sunday.
1. Chapter 1: Reunions

A/N - So, welcome to Book Four of my 'Growing up Jedi' series.

This story follows Sascha Whitestar an OC and his friends (also OCs) as he progresses as a young Padawan in the Jedi Order. You'll see familiar faces from the Star Wars pop up, but in general the story revolves around my OC characters.

For those who have read books one through three, welcome back! For those of you that are interested in catching up - well you have a lot of reading to do! You can find Book 1 and Book 2 in my profile. If you'd like to know if you can jump in and start reading right now...well you could, but you'd likely end up very confused. If you want to know if this story is worth reading then I encourage you to look at the reviews of my previous works - I may not have a huge readership, but I do have loyal fans.

This story will be updated once a week, on Sunday, usually around 10pm EST.

As you'll see we made a bit of a time skip between books 3 and 4, nothing too dramatic, but everyone's a bit older. This book will be a bit less focused on fighting, but I think you'll find Sascha's continued adventures to be interesting. We'll also be seeing some more famous characters pop up from time to time...

For now, please enjoy the first chapter of Book Four- as ever all feedback is very much appreciated.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Reunions**

Aurine Brynar watched as the world of Domgrin grew in the viewport of the _Emerald Dream_. Domgrin with its lush greenery and dual suns was an interesting looking world, even from thousands of miles away. Always torn between protecting its amazing wildlife and the tourism industry that came with it, and the rare minerals that were found within those same wilds, there were constant debates about what path the world should take.

"A beautiful world, so alive in the Force," commented her Padawan, seated in the pilot's chair beside her. Leaning back in the co-pilot's chair, she took a better look at her apprentice.

Sascha Whitestar, now nineteen, was still below average height, though a very late minor growth spurt had allowed him to overtop her by perhaps an inch. Though he was concentrated on bringing his ship in for a landing at the appointed spaceport, the features on his pale face were youthful, open, and friendly, topped by his soft brown eyes. Lithe and athletic, growing into his fully adult frame hadn't brought too many changes to him, in fact he could still easily pass for a much younger human. His dark brown hair remained medium length, in spite of the rules for Padawans strongly preferring shorter hair. The reasoning behind this was quite simple. Sascha Whitestar, simply looked awful with short hair and she did not want to walk around with an apprentice that had a permanent bad haircut. The teal and green ribbons remained subtly tied into his Padawan braid, hidden by his dark brown hair, but still visible if you looked hard enough.

A Padawan for now four years, he had grown more comfortable as a Jedi and more comfortable with himself as well. And she had seen most of it first hand. There had been hardships along the way, missions that hadn't gone perfectly, close calls that ended with one of them, or sometimes both of them in bacta tanks. There had been losses of good people, but there also had been many successes. Sascha had a knack for finding unorthodox solutions to the problems they were presented with and he was also becoming quite a good diplomat. Of course, with Sascha's patience and general amiability that shouldn't have been too hard to see coming.

Aurine knew that she was very lucky to have a Padawan like Sascha, not just because he was going to become a fine Jedi Knight, but because he was a great fit with her. Now more mature, he had less moments where she felt like she was dragging around a superpowered teenager, and more moments that showed to her that he was becoming her equal. It was also easy for Aurine to see the influence she had on Sascha. While he maintained some of his own strengths, he had also picked up some of hers, including her tactical nous.

It made her proud to see him surpass her. As Sascha brought his ship in for the landing, she got a taste of one of the ways he had surpassed her. The _Emerald Dream_ landed with the greatest of care on the landing pad, causing nary a shudder. Although Aurine estimated herself to be quite a good pilot, she had to admit that Sascha had surpassed her, especially when piloting his own ship. This wasn't the original _Emerald Dream,_ of course. The original ship had crash landed on Ubrora during the final battle there and had basically been unsalvagable. However, a joint effort between Ubrora and Sluis Van had seen the commissioning of a new ship called the _Emerald Dream,_ which had been gifted to Sascha. He had accepted the new ship, grudgingly, at her insistence. She had pointed out that it would have been rude to turn down a gift, especially from a world that owed him as much of a debt as Ubrora did. And over time Sascha had come to accept this new ship and the _Emerald Dream_ had ushered them through many hairy situations, usually with Sascha at the controls.

A small bump indicated that the ship had come to a halt on the landing pad, "Another smooth landing, apprentice."

Sascha gave her a somewhat smug look, "As if you expected something else?"

"Well, there was a bit of a crosswind from the north. I wasn't sure if you were going to compensate for it."

Sascha rolled his eyes dramatically and stood from his chair, "Please, Master. As you no doubt recall, I landed this ship during the middle of one of the worst storms in Galix V's history. I hit the middle of the landing pad even when the snow was so deep I couldn't _see_ landing pad."

That was indeed true. She and Sascha had delivered badly needed medical supplies to the colony world of Galix V. Most pilots had turned down the supply run, despite the generous credits that were being offered. She and Sascha had done it for free. "Having one good landing doesn't mean that you can take the rest of them for granted."

He nodded in agreement, "Of course, Master. However, our guests are waiting for us, we should go meet them." Swinging her chair around, she followed her apprentice out of the cockpit. She reached into the Force for a second, trying to discern her Padawan's reaction to their guests. Sascha's reaction was muted, but she could tell that he was happy to get to see who was waiting for him at the boarding ramp. And to be honest, she was a little happy to see them as well.

Aurine watched as her charcoal robed Padawan lowered the boarding ramp that allowed two more Jedi to enter the _Emerald Dream_. Nara Nalto bounded up the ramp in her usual enthusiastic style, firing a friendly punch to Sascha's shoulder as she did. The purple-skinned Togruta, now nineteen as well, seemed to show the signs of age more significantly than Sascha. Her montrals were thickening and growing into the hollow horns of an adult Togruta, even though they wouldn't be fully grown for a few more years. Her purple and dark red lekku were longer now, when she stood still they fell to her chest. With a supple and lithe frame, Nara had the build of a dancer, of course her preferred dance was combat. She was about the same height as Sascha, and her gray robe was about as stylish as Jedi robes got, a concession to the young Togruta's affinity for nice clothes. As Sascha and Nara engaged in some more mock fighting, the Togruta's face was alight, her blue eyes showing her affection for her best friend.

The second Jedi clambered up the ramp more slowly, took a look at the continued playfighting that was taking place, and shook her head, "I thought that these two might grow up someday." The speaker was the newly promoted Jedi Master Tiplee. Exotic looking, the red skinned Rishati had blue lips, eyebrows and eyes. Her feathery ears extended like an exotic hairstyle that wafted lightly along with the invisible currents of wind that circled around the ship.

"There's no rule against roughhousing with friends," said Nara as she tried a speculative kick that Sascha moved out of the way of. Sascha replied with a couple of quick jabs that Nara bobbed and weaved around.

"We know that because I checked," chimed in Sascha, as he circled away and dared the Togruta to attack. The two sparred for another few seconds, neither landing as much as a glancing blow , before stepping back and bowing to each other. It was fairly obvious that neither Padawan had actually been intending to hit the other – this was playfighting, not sparring. Despite being best friends, when Sascha and Nara sparred together, they sparred as hard as any Jedi she had known.

"If you are both done," she said wearily. Both younger Jedi nodded, and she continued, "The ship needs supplies before we can head out. Sascha you know what we need, take Nara with you on the supply run."

"Can we put on our civilian clothes?" asked Nara, "my robe is in need of a rather thorough wash. I need a sanisteam too."

Aurine thought about it for a second, "If you want. Just remember to be careful."

Sascha shot her a confident look, "I'm always careful, Master."

"I don't think it was you she was worried about," replied Tiplee with a smirk towards her impetuous apprentice.

Nara at least had the good grace to look slightly ashamed. "I know you two will be fine together," she reached out and squeezed her apprentice's shoulder lightly, "You two usually are. Now go get changed and get our supplies. I want to get underway as soon as possible." The two Padawans bowed graciously and headed to their respective rooms. Nara had been aboard the _Emerald Dream_ enough that both Nara and Tiplee had rooms that while not _theirs_ had been used enough that their stuff tended to end up there.

Tiplee casually leaned back against the side of the ship, "You are sending the two of them off together without lecturing them? Are you feeling okay?"

"I've…grown more comfortable with the idea of letting them go on their own together."

Tiplee clucked her tongue, "Sounds like someone's finally come around to my side."

Aurine nodded easily, "I think time has shown that my fears about them being attracted to each other were unfounded."

"That is what I've been trying to get through your head for more than a year now, I guess persistence does pay off." Aurine managed a mock scowl at the Rishati, who to be honest had become a rather close friend over the missions they had shared together.

After their success on Ubrora, the Jedi Council had deigned to keep the four of them together, where it was possible. Though the missions had technically all gone to the newly promoted Jedi Master Tiplee, she had kept picking her and by extension Sascha to join her and Nara on their missions. It was not uncommon for Jedi to have almost 'sub-groups' that were kept together when given the opportunity, but Aurine had anticipated that it might be her, Sascha and Luminara. But this little group probably suited her better. Luminara was often deployed to purely diplomatic missions, while Tiplee got missions that often required a little 'Jedi diplomacy' aka lightsaber diplomacy. Those missions suited Aurine well.

Tiplee and her had become close almost by necessity. Though she had been promoted, and deservedly so, to Jedi Master, Tiplee continued to let her take the lead when the situation called for it, for that she would always be grateful. Her and Tiplee also had swapped Padawans on occasion, letting Sascha gain some experience as an aide to the diplomatically adept Rishati, while she taught Nara how to handle security for such diplomatic meetings. While she did enjoy teaching Nara on occasion, she was very happy that Sascha was her apprentice, the Togruta was just too…energetic to handle for an extended period of time. Sascha knew how to give her space when she needed it. Nara did not.

The friendship between Sascha and Nara had somewhat cooled after Ubrora, though that had certainly been for the best, and both Padawans seemed to have realized it. They were still close friends, best friends, even but they were not overly reliant on each other like they had been during that trying mission. She still sometimes questioned their friendship, but ultimately, she felt that Sascha and Nara had found acceptable boundaries for their friendship.

After a few minutes passed, the two Padawans emerged from their rooms and politely presented themselves to her and Tiplee. They had discarded their Jedi robes for generic looking beige jumpsuits that wouldn't look out of place on a hundred different worlds. "You have your lightsabers?" she asked.

Sascha and Nara both withdrew their lightsaber hilts from a pocket in their jumpsuits and presented them to their Masters. Aurine almost smiled, they were both so polite when they wanted something from her, and more than anything, just like any other teenager, they wanted to be away from their elders. She made a show of checking over Sascha's lightsaber, but she knew that it was always kept in perfect condition. Her Padawan wasn't overly fastidious or neat, but the possessions he did care about he kept in top condition.

She handed Sascha back his lightsaber, "Don't be more than two hours. Keep your comlink on at all times. If you don't pick up by the third ring, I'll be very upset."

"Yes, Master."

She grinned, "Okay, you can go now." Sascha and Nara shared a look of triumph and started towards the boarding ramp. "Oh, and Padawans," the two young Jedi stopped in their tracks, "You have my permission to have some fun."

Nara and Sascha beamed and walked down the now extended landing ramp. By the time they reached the bottom, the two Padawans were already in deep conversation with each other. She shook her head ruefully, without their robes the Padawans looked more like two college students than two of the galaxies most fearsome warriors. Perhaps that was for the best though. Sometimes even Jedi needed to be able to relax.


	2. Chapter 2: Reflections, Part 1

**LordDarthYoda** \- Yeah we'll be bridging time for a bit, but we'll be in the mission quick enough.

 **Speechbubbleme** \- Aww, you are making me blush! I intend to keep it up :).

 **Mr. Insane -** I mean the canon characters won't be taking over, but I feel confident enough in my writing to have say...Anakin show up here and there or Count Dooku etc.

 **Transformers g1's-Prime-** I loved your idea about meeting up with Lyra Erso, especially because I'm rereading _Catalyst_. I just don't think it quite works out with where the story goes - nonetheless its a fantastic idea and I immediately spent like 30 minutes trying to get Lyra Erso into the plot somehow without having her being shoehorned in.

 **Bodare2-** Getting the grammar/spelling better is certainly my intent - at the end of the last book I was basically writing 4,000 words in 3 days, and the story suffered somewhat for it. Now that I've set a more realistic release schedule, I think the quality of the writing should go up.

A/N - So as you may have noticed, we've done a bit of a time skip, so these next few chapters will catch us up to what has been happening with our Jedi. We'll get through it quickly enough and on to the important stuff fairly quickly.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Reflections, Part 1  
**

With the two Padawans dispatched to retrieve supplies, Aurine meandered to the small food prep area of the _Emearld Dream_. She opened the refrigeration unit and perused the stock. Inside the small unit was about what you would probably expect, food, mostly meals that could easily be prepped and consumed with minimal time and effort as neither she nor Sascha tended to be hugely interested in cooking meals. Yet the bottles on one shelf drew her attention. Grabbing one with a label with Aurebesh symbols on it, she grabbed one and popped off the cap with a flourish. "Want an ale?" she asked Tiplee.

The Rishati peered past her and into the fridge, "I'll have some of that Sarconian wine." Aurine reached into the fridge and pulled out the short, clear bottle that had dark mauve liquid inside of it and handed it to her fellow Jedi Knight. Tiplee poured herself a glass, swirled the liquid around and took a cautious sip. "That is quite good, you should try some."

"Wine isn't really my drink," she responded as she took a swig of her ale. The cool refreshing liquid tumbled down her throat, leaving behind a slightly bitter aftertaste. The two Jedi Knights moved into the ship's galley and sat across from each other.

"Are you sure that we should both be drinking?"asked Tiplee

She shrugged indifferently, "This is why we have Padawans, isn't it? So we can partake in libations while they do all the hard work? Besides, this is Domgrin, it's not exactly like an angry mob is going to rush our ship."

Tiplee peered at her for a second, trying to decide if she was joking or not, before settling on emitting a slight chuckle. "I suppose you are right. It is nice to have a slightly older apprentice, I must admit as Nara is far easier to deal with now than she once was. I would wish that Nara wasn't so interested in boys, she gets distracted too easily still."

"At least she isn't distracted by Sascha."

The Rishati shrugged, "I don't believe she was ever interested in Sascha. As I've said to you on multiple occasions, you don't have to worry about those two becoming interested in the other. They have affection for each other, absolutely, but they don't even really flirt very much anymore. Their relationship is and always has been platonic."

Aurine took another swig of her drink, "I submit, Master Tiplee. I was wrong."

"You have been very slow to admit this," she said pointedly.

"It's taken me a long time to be absolute sure that they aren't interested each other. I'm protective of Sascha, especially when it comes to matters of the heart, I'll admit that. But you didn't have to deal with him after he had to break up with Tyra Harker. That's something I very much want to avoid."

The Rishati twirled her glass slowly, watching the liquid swirl in its glass, "What were the events that made you change your mind?"

"Well, first there was the time on Eredenn Prime …"

* * *

 _8 Months Ago, Eredenn Prime_

About 8 months ago, She, Tiplee, Nara and Sascha had been sent to the planet Eredenn Prime to negotiate a truce between two warring tribes. The four Jedi had first gone to the leader of one of the tribes, Aris Larit, who seemed open to negotiations as long as they were being conducted by the Jedi. They had then gone to his counterpart Gestav Stresser and asked that he submit to mediation.

Gestav had agreed to mediation, but only if they Jedi would prove themselves 'worthy.' He had offered them two choices, single combat to the death against him, or, if the Jedi would survive a night on the frozen tundra of Eredenn Prime in winter, he would admit that they were worthy. In theory, an easy choice, in practice, surviving even one night, which would last almost eighteen hours, on the frozen tundra of Eredenn Prime would not be easy, even for a Jedi. The bitter cold was an obvious problem, the other problem were the large predators native to the planet, predators that could pose a threat even to four Jedi.

It got even harder when Gestav had demanded that they take off their cold-weather gear and wear just their robes and cloaks. Nara had tugged on Tiplee's robe, asking her to challenge Gestav in single combat, assuming probably that her Master could have defeated but not killed Gestav. Tiplee had brushed her apprentice's hand off of her and handed her cold-weather clothes to the chieftain and everyone had reluctantly followed suit.

Four of the tribe's warriors led them out into the middle of the frozen plains and then left them alone. If the Jedi survived until sunrise, they could use a communicator and Gestav himself would come and pick them up.

"We are being left out in the cold to die, Master," said Sascha forlornly, watching their guides drive away on their speeder.

"I'm already frozen," said a shivering Nara Nalto, slinging her brown cloak around her as tightly as possible. Though one might assume that the lekku of a Togruta were sensitive to cold weather, they actually handled the cold fairly well.

Tiplee, clearly unconcerned, pointed at a far away ridge line that was off in the distance, "We will look for caves near that ridge. If we can get out of the wind, the weather will be more tolerable."

Sascha muttered, "Great, it will take _longer_ for us to freeze to death."

Aurine silenced her apprentice with a glare. This was a time to stick together and display solidarity, not a time for dark humor. "Huddle close, and we can keep the worst of the winds away. Use the Force to give you warmth, but don't overdo it. We can't afford for anyone to collapse."

Sascha and Nara shared a private look. Since Ubrora they had continued to be close, and continued to be more touchy-feely than Aurine had really wanted. Whenever she would bring up the question to Sascha, he would look at her, confused, asking what specific actions she objected to. She had tried to suggest that he may be falling into the same trap that he had with Tyra, but her objections had fallen on to deaf ears.

Still as the Jedi grouped tightly together, Sascha and Nara conspicuously attached themselves to their Masters instead of huddling close to each other for warmth. By the time they had gotten halfway to the ridge, Aurine felt like she had become an icicle. She was just using enough of the Force to keep her body from collapsing from the cold, something she had some experience with. Aurine tried to assist Sascha in his quest to keep warm, taking the brunt of the gusts of wind that came across the frozen plains. Still, he was struggling to remain warm. Yet, he was too dogged or perhaps too frozen, to complain.

By the time they reached the ridge line, both Jedi Knights were supporting their apprentices, Nara physically clung to Tiplee like a mother would cling to a child, both physically and through the Force. Sascha had totally sapped himself over the past few hours, and if they hadn't gotten out of the hellacious winds, he almost certainly would have contracted hypothermia sooner rather than later.

Tiplee had gone and searched for shelter, finding a little secluded area that was protected by a formation rocky ridges, which would allow them to be safe from the worst of the winds. The Rishati built a little fire, cobbling together what little kindling she could find. It probably wasn't the warmest of fires, and it always seemed to be in danger of petering out, but it felt like an inferno when you sat next to it.

Knowing that the Padawans badly needed a rest, Aurine had suggested that they sleep close to the fire. She had assumed that common sense would prevail, and that the two of them would curl together and let their body heat warm each other. Yet the two of them had stubbornly resisted getting physically close to the other. That was twice today that they had been given an excuse to be physically close to each other but stubbornly resisted doing so.

Finally, a half-asleep Nara Nalto had gotten up, thrown her brown cloak overtop of a mostly asleep Sascha Whitestar, and cuddled tightly with him. Aurine was half certain that Nara hadn't even consciously made the decision to go over to Sascha, and that it was merely a survival instinct. Aside from making sure that the two Padawans' cloaks were covering them both, she and Tiplee had let the two Padawans sleep. The two Jedi Knights waited out half the night, using the Force to persuade the predators of Eredenn Prime that they were not the meal that they were looking for. They were fortunate that none of the predators seemed particularly hungry and that Tiplee had a strong knack for communicating with feral creatures.

Hours later, the two Padawans had awoken and they had done something that Aurine had only assumed had occurred in holodramas. The two sleepy Padawans, curled tightly together for warmth, had taken one look at the position that they were in and then both of them had shouted in horror, scrambling as far away from the other as their small enclosure would allow them to.

Despite herself, Aurine laughed. Nara looked less than amused as she brushed some of the snow off of her montrals and swung her cloak around her again, "Alright, which one of you decided to push us together? My credits are on you, Master Brynar."

"Actually apprentice, it was you that started snuggling with Sascha," said Tiplee.

Sascha snorted, "No, I don't believe that. Nara only snuggles with cute Togruta boys."

The Togruta nodded enthusiastically in agreement, "Yes, exactly!"

Aurine stepped forward, "I'm sorry to say that it's true. Nara, you got up and threw your cloak around Sascha. Then you continued to cuddle with him for the rest of the night."

Nara put her head in her hands while Sascha managed a look of disgust. Tiplee seemed confused, "Why are you both embarrassed? Was that not the optimal sleeping arrangement, sharing body heat for warmth? You both had multiple layers of clothes on," she pointed out. "Would you have preferred to have gotten frostbite?"

"I guess…," admitted Sascha.

"I just can't believe I would do that," said Nara. "I must have been sleepwalking," she decided.

"Will the two of you play nice together while we take a brief rest?" asked Aurine.

"Yes, Master," replied Sascha quickly, snapping back into professional mode.

The two Jedi Knights showed none of the prudishness that the Padawans had, snuggling together with little complaint. Aurine actually thought the Rishati was a nice snuggling companion, she would have preferred a statuesque man of course, but the surprisingly warm Tiplee wasn't bad either.

A couple of hours passed by, and when the Jedi Knights awoke, they saw Sascha and Nara had made a little tent out of their cloaks so that they could shield themselves from the worst of the wind. Without their cloaks, the two of them had to sit very close to each other to keep warm, but they didn't seem to be uncomfortable with it as they might have been previously. The two Padawans were talking quietly, eyes scanning the horizon when they noticed that their Masters were stirring.

"How is it going," inquired Aurine as she sat beside her Padawan, throwing her cloak around the both of them. Tiplee replicated the manoeuvre with Nara.

"Not dead yet," said Sascha, "and I think I'm even getting the hang of maintaining my body temperature with the Force in this cold. I thought I mastered it back at the Temple, but you can't simulate freezing cold, even in the refrigeration unit."

"We're sharing the load," said Nara, "By working together we are able to keep warmer without exhausting ourselves."

Sascha leaned over and patted his friend softly on the back, "See, I told you that our bond is good for something." There was no doubting that the two Padawans shared a strong bond in the Force, which was half the reason that Aurine worried about them becoming romantically involved with each other. She had seen Nara and Sascha function more like one being than two on many different occasions.

"It's good that you two are learning," said Tiplee.

"We learn quite slowly, I think," said Nara. "While you were asleep, we actually decided we need to apologize to you."

"For two things actually," said Sascha.

The Togruta nodded, "First off, the two of us shouldn't have doubted you, Master Tiplee. We should have realized that you would have had a plan to keep us safe. I just…couldn't see why you'd agree for us to be left out here. I thought you signed our death warrants."

Tiplee stood in front of the seated Jedi, "I'll tell you my reasoning, Padawans. You must see the problem from the perspective of Gestav Stresser. Do you think he was an evil person? The type of person that would knowingly sentence four Jedi to their deaths over this dispute?"

Both Padawans shook their head, "He seemed mean, but not malicious," said Sascha.

"He was looking to save face in front of his tribe," said Tiplee. "And by exiling us for a night he would satisfy the hardliners in his tribe. He will say that he did everything in his power to stop the mediation. He can even say that the Jedi chose to spend a night in the elements over fighting him and that we proved our strength by surviving for a night and thus we are worthy of respect."

"And thus we can negotiate a new treaty," she added.

"And you knew that we would be okay in these conditions?" inquired Sascha.

"Maybe not _knew_ , but strongly suspected. I knew that if we could get to the ridgeline, we'd be okay. The hard part was getting there."

"Thank you for explaining, Master," said Nara, bowing her head politely.

"You are welcome, Padawan."

"What was the second thing you wanted to apologize for?" asked Aurine.

Sascha looked chagrined, "Well, we kinda wanted to apologize for being so silly when it came to sleeping arrangements. We should have been comfortable enough to sleep together for warmth, instead of being afraid of being together."

"We shouldn't have overreacted," said Nara quietly, "Any Jedi should be able to work together in serious situations like this."

Sascha picked up from his friend, "We are both just…trying very hard not to become attached to each other. We know that we are close, emotionally at least, so physically we've tried to keep each other at arm's length. That's why we don't ever practice non-combat with each other anymore, because we might end up rolling on the sparring mat with each other…getting up close and personal if you want to put it that way."

"And I used to really enjoy practicing grappling holds with Sascha," said Nara her tone subdued, "He's a good teacher. But we sacrificed that because we both thought it might jeopardize our friendship." Nara clenched her fists in frustration, "It's just hard, we don't want to get too close to each other, so that feelings don't emerge, but we are missing out on the benefits of being close at the same time. I don't know what the balance is supposed to be."

Aurine didn't know what to say to that. She knew that on some level that the two of them had drawn boundaries between themselves, but she never saw it as being harmful. Boundaries were supposed to be good things, and she had applauded the maturity of both Sascha and Nara to draw them. But was being paranoid about attachment possibly holding them back? She didn't know. She'd never thought about it.

Tiplee knelt in front of the two apprentices, "A strong bond between two Jedi is a rare thing. It is up to both of you to decide what you will make of it. It is good to see you set boundaries, but it seems to me that you are making them out of fear, rather than for any good reason."

"Shouldn't we fear attachment?" asked Sascha.

"No, be cautious of it, be _aware_ of it. But don't fear it. Fear is something a Jedi should never embrace."

Nara reached over and gave Sascha's shoulder a friendly tap, "Okay, we'll try. Thanks for the explanation, Master Tiplee."

"I actually have a question to ask of both of you." The Rishati took a deep breath, "Could you, should the situation demand it, sacrifice each other if it was the right thing to do?" Sascha looked stricken by the question and looked downwards. Nara clenched and unclenched her fists, staring forward intently.

"I don't know," said Nara finally.

"I would hope I could," said Sascha.

The Rishati leaned forward and touched both Padawans on their forearms, "I hope it is a decision you will never have to make. But remember attachment is not about love or even romance, it is about placing one person above another, valuing them higher than any other person. In the Force, we are all equals, each of us are luminous beings and it is a mistake to forget that."

"We will remember," Nara promised earnestly, earning a nod from Sascha in support.

"May I ask a more personal question, Master Tiplee?" asked Sascha.

"Of course, Padawan Whitestar."

"Could you sacrifice your sister if need be? I know you are close, being related by blood. Forgive me if the question is too personal," he said deferentially.

"It is not too personal, Padawan." Tiplee paused for a long second before replying, "I love my sister. She is my twin. We came into this world together and we are linked in a way that most will never be. But if the situation called for it…yes, I could make the necessary sacrifice. In that way I reject attachment, even though I am proud to say that I will always love my sister." Tiplee's face showed emotion for a second, causing Nara to lean over and embrace her Master lightly.

"Could you sacrifice me, Master Tiplee?" asked Nara, "If the situation demanded it, of course."

"Only if it was the absolute last option, apprentice."

"Isn't that kind of like attachment," pointed out Sascha.

"In a way," allowed Tiplee.

Aurine, feeling rather left out of this conversation jumped in, "As Masters, we took a vow that we would see you become Jedi Knights, and that we would protect you. It is, in a way a sort of attachment. But would you prefer to have a Master that protected you at all costs, or a Master that treated you like just another person?"

Sascha paused, considering, "I think it would be best if there was a balance between the two."

"Balance is always the way, Padawan," she said, pulling him in for a friendly embrace. Sascha didn't resist, didn't pull away. That was something she liked about Sascha, he never seemed too shy to actually show affection towards her. And as he grew older, he grew more accommodating about acquiescing to her displays of affection.

Nara pointed at the horizon, "Look, the sun is up! We made it through the night."

Smiles greeted that pronouncement. As Sascha and Nara celebrated quietly, Aurine watched them together. Yes, thought Aurine Brynar, there was no better way to pass the night spent on frozen tundra than surrounded by friends and enjoying a meaningful conversation. It was almost too bad that it had to end.


	3. Chapter 3: Reflections, Part 2

**LordDarthYoda** \- I don't know, as a Canadian I find the number of ice planets to be totally appropriate :p. As for me having plans to torture my characters...nah, I've never done that...

 **Speechbubbleme** \- Aurine is protective of Sascha, but at least she's come to realize that she is overly protective. She became a bit too much of a killjoy in the last book with her constantly worrying about Sascha x Nara that never developed.

 **Mr. Insane -** It's like poetry, it rhymes... And your summary is far too generous, I just kind of fluke into these things :p.

 **Bodare2-** Please continue to point out the errors, because I do certainly make them :p. And don't worry about me stressing - writing is what I do to get _rid_ of the stress, that is why I moved to a bit of a slower release schedule.

A/N - Second part of catching up for lost time. This was originally two chapters, but it made far sense to post it as one chapter, because it is on the 'fluffier' side of things. It also has the added benefit of having the next chapter outlining the mission :). So this chapter is a bit of a long one! Okay it's like 7k words...

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Reflections, Part 2**

 _Present Day_

Aurine Brynar took a look at her drink. It was almost half-empty and she was starting to feel a pleasant buzz. While she could have easily used the Force to purge that feeling, alcohol was something of a poison after all, she enjoyed the relaxing feeling, knowing that being able to unwind was as important a skill as deflecting blaster fire.

Tiplee smiled wistfully, remembering the events on Eredenn Prime. "I was sure that after our conversation that day that you would finally see that the two Padawans have no romantic thoughts towards each other."

"I'll admit that Eredenn Prime was when I started thinking that the two of them might actually be able to remain only friends."

"You are very stubborn when your mind is made up," observed Tiplee. "When did you finally come to realize that they see each other only as friends?"

"That would be on our mission to Chandrilla."

Tiplee grinned widely, "A mission that I will always remember."

Aurine let a little smile creep over her features. That mission was one that she remembered fondly as well. It was certainly a mission worth reminiscing about over a nice cold ale…

* * *

 _2 Months Ago, Chandrilla_

The mission that had seen the four Jedi sent to the peaceful world of Chandrilla had been a tense one, requiring the Jedi to do something that they traditionally did not like doing – going undercover. Sascha and Nara both had a decent knack for it, having done it on a couple different occasions. Amusingly, they sometimes had to go undercover as a couple, which they were both obviously (and sometimes hilariously) uncomfortable with. Still, they would play their part if asked, and the simple truth was that people tended to pay attention to a pair of young 'lovers' than your average person, and Sascha and Nara had learned how to use that to their advantage.

What had seen the Jedi deployed to Chandrilla was the enthusiastically named 'Schallik Industries Youth Retreat.' The retreat, sponsored by a Chandrillan corporation, brought the heirs and heiresses of various off-world corporations to Chandrilla to promote a week of learning about the environment, corporate responsibility and all those good things that heads of corporations sometimes forgot…

Normally, such a retreat would not have drawn the attention of the Jedi at all, but somehow word had filtered through to Jedi Master Coleman Trebor that an unidentified person was making threats to 'disrupt' the retreat. Aurine wasn't sure how a corporate retreat potentially being under attack rated four Jedi being sent to Chandrilla, but they had been nearby, and she wasn't going to complain about any time she got to visit the picturesque world of Chandrilla.

While she and Tiplee had drawn the assignment of finding who was making these threats, Sascha and Nara had been inserted into the retreat with false identities, playing the role of protecting the innocent retreat attendees.

She and Tiplee had not been able to find the identity of the being that had been making these anonymous threats, but Sascha and Nara had not. Early on in the mission, Sascha and Nara had identified one of the attendees as a bit 'troubled.' After a little bit of investigation by the Padawans, they had found that Sylik Fees, heir to a fruit processing corporation on Mygeeto, had recent lost both of his parents to a mysterious plague and he had only been sent to this retreat so that his uncle could consolidate his grip on the company. Understandably a little unstable after such a dramatic event, Sylik had fallen in with a group of anti-corporate extremists, who had convinced Sylik to make a dramatic attack on the gala that would end the event.

It had been Nara and Sascha that had put the pieces together, which they had done adroitly, with both young Jedi befriending Sylik. Together, they had a long talk with Sylik, and convinced him to turn himself in. The Chandrillan authorities had initially wanted to charge Sylik as a terrorist, but Nara and Sascha had stood firm, stating that they could not punish a person that was doing the right thing. Eventually, the Padawans had made a deal that had made everyone satisfied. Sylik would turn over all the information he had on the anti-corporate extremists, he would hand the Chandrillan authorities the weapons that he was going to use to make his attack and he would submit himself to counseling on planet.

After the Padawans had brought Sylik in and turned him over to the authorities, Aurine had found Sascha sitting alone on a little bluff outside of the luxury resort that all the retreat participants were being housed in. She had dressed up so she didn't seem out of place at the resort, taking the time to style her hair and wear something a little more comfortable and revealing, which was a nice change from the sometimes unflattering Jedi robes. Sascha had dressed up as well, in a fashionable shirt and trousers combination, with a cape artfully draped around his shoulders, as was the fashion on Chandrilla. He seemed almost…sad though as he sat on his own, looking blankly into the distance.

She sat quietly beside him, watching the carefully curated wildlife of Chandrilla roam in the little plain just outside the resort. Sascha, despite being nineteen, had the patience of a much older man, and he forced her to break the silence, "You did well today, bringing Sylik in, and negotiating his deal. Tiplee and I will make note of your actions in our report. To make it stand out from the other glowing reports, I suppose I'll try to make the praise more effusive than usual."

Sascha smiled briefly, "Thank you, Master. I know I did well today," he said quietly.

The wind blew softly through Sascha's well-styled (for once) hair, "Then why are you sad, Sascha?"

Her apprentice hesitated, "I'm not sad…I'm just reflective." This time, Aurine waited out her Padawan, who continued, "I just hate the wealth that is on display here. These are people my age who have done nothing with their lives and they have wealth that is just staggering to me." He waved a hand back at the resort, "This is probably the nicest place I've ever stayed at, but all I heard from the guests over the the past few days was how the food processors were bad, and that the climate control on their rooms was unresponsive. It was just insane to me that anyone could complain about anything! Here we are on this beautiful world, in its top rated resort, but there were ten complaints for every compliment uttered. I just wanted to shout at them: 'You morons have everything, how can you complain about such minor details?' Half the people here wouldn't have lasted a week training at the Temple."

"That was quite a rant, Sascha. That must have been building inside you for days."

Sascha blushed good-naturedly, "Yes. I don't want to say that everyone here was awful, but I just found their complaints grating."

"So did you feel that the people here were unworthy of protection?" she asked, guessing at what might have upset him.

He sighed softly, "No, and I was happy to make a difference here, but I wonder about the other times this happens across the galaxy when the event organizers don't have the cache to get a Jedi to pull security duty. Why am I here protecting the richest young heirs in the galaxy? They've already gotten all the breaks in life they should need, they should be able to fend for themselves or hire their own security. I want to help the weak, the needy. That's what being a Jedi is about, not protecting some rich snobs that don't even know that they were saved by Nara and I."

Aurine felt herself nodding along with her apprentice, "Sometimes, I feel the same way, Sascha. It's a problem that I don't know how to fix though. Rich people tend to have better access to the Jedi Order. It's easier for us to hear the plea of a businessman or Coruscant than a farmer on a distant world."

"We need to change that."

"I agree. How?"

"I don't know," he admitted.

Sascha sat quietly, processing the information, and then he smiled ruefully at her, "I want to be like those Jedi in the holos, where it is always straightforward - good guys versus bad guys and the Jedi always triumph."

"And you get to kiss the girl in the end."

"That's not bad either."

Aurine would have ruffled his hair at that remark, but she didn't want to spoil the time he had spent grooming it so she merely smiled back at him.

Sascha rose, "Thanks to this silly formal ball I have to attend, I need an hour to dress and get ready, so I better head back inside. Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime, apprentice."

A little more than an hour later, the four Jedi had gathered in Nara's room at the resort, preparing for the gala that would soon take place the the resort's ballroom. While attendance at the gala was hardly necessary, because the outfits for the night had already been rented it had made no sense to let the credits go to waste. Besides, both Masters knew that the Padawans would enjoy attending the formal ball, despite Sascha's protestations to the contrary.

She and Tiplee were dressed demurely for their occasion, owing to the fact that they had temporarily secured employment as chaperones for the event. In short all they would be doing was making sure that none of the participants had too much to drink or broke any local laws. She didn't expect there to be too much trouble in that regard, but it would probably keep her occupied for the duration.

As the hour grew later, Sascha prowled around the room around restlessly, "We are going to be late. Nara knows that it's considered an insult to be late on Chandrilla right? Someone go remind her."

"It takes a little longer for females to get dressed for events like this, Sascha. Be patient," she replied. Her Padawan had dressed up for the occasion in formal attire, and even she had to admit that he looked…well…good. Which is what wearing tailored clothes that expensive would do for you, she knew. His formal clothes fit into Chandrillan tradition, a dapper black suit with a little bit of flair, in this case a teal cape that was a little thinner than usual. He had also bowed to Chandrillan tradition and put deep red streaks through his hair. The whole effect made Sascha look almost like a completely different person. A better looking person, certainly.

"Typical Nara," grumbled Sascha, "All she could talk about yesterday was this ball, and now she's going to be late for it." He shook his head in exasperation, "Whatever, I'm going to go get a drink." Her Padawan exited the room, no doubt finding one of his favourite fruit drinks from the extensive refrigeration unit located in the adjacent room.

It was not long after Sascha had left that Nara had emerged from her room. It took Aurine to a moment to process the Togruta that stood in front of her, for she looked almost like a totally different being.

"So…how do I look?" she asked. Aurine searched for the right words. While Nara had always possessed a certain level of attractiveness, she had always thought of the Togruta as relatively average looking. Now, she needed to re-evaluate that stance. Dressed in a tight fitting violet dress that fell to just above her knees that left most of her arms, shoulders, and a patch of her midriff bare, Nara had chosen to amplify all of her best physical attributes. Lacking a curvaceous figure, Nara's choice of dress had instead augmented her athletic look, drawing the eye towards her flat midriff and well-toned legs. Her makeup was subtly applied, drawing more attention to her large, bright blue eyes. To top it off, Nara seemed completely confident, adopting a pose fit for a model. While Nara was almost always confident, right now she seemed poised in a way that suggested that she knew that she was beautiful, which wasn't something that Aurine had ever attributed to the Togruta.

"You look…amazing, Nara," she responded.

"You look very beautiful tonight, my apprentice," Tiplee said, seeming to be as lost for words as she had been.

"Thanks," said Nara, blushing slightly, which made her actually look even more attractive.

"Great, so Nara finally emerged from her cocoon?" asked Sascha from the other room.

Aurine was suddenly very interested to see her Padawan's reaction to Nara's outfit. There was nothing like seeing your longtime friend all dressed up, looking like the belle of the ball to reveal what might have been a hidden attraction.

Sascha entered as he finished off his fruit drink, took a good look at Nara and nodded distractedly, "Yeah, you look good Nara," he said in a disinterested tone, "Now can we please leave? The gala starts in five minutes."

If the Togruta took any offence at Sascha's muted reaction, Aurine didn't notice. "We best do what Sascha says," said Nara, "after all, he finally spent more than five minutes on his appearance. It must _truly_ be a special occasion."

"Hey!" said Sascha, indignant.

Before her apprentice could find a worthy retort, Nara strode past him confidently and out the door. Sascha made a small gesture of frustration before following the Togruta.

Alone in the room, Aurine felt like she and Tiplee were proud parents that had just watched their children head off to the school dance. "That did not go as I expected it would," Aurine commented.

"Which part?" replied Tiplee.

She considered for a moment, "All of it."

* * *

Inside the ornate ballroom at the resort, Aurine Brynar hovered at the periphery of the room, listening with one ear to the CEO of Schallik Industries yammer on self-importantly. Sascha and Nara were off to the side in a small group of beings, quietly and respectfully listening to the speech. Not everyone was doing the same thing, and Aurine spotted a particularly egregious offender, a young Bith who seemed more occupied by the conversation on his datapad than the speech. Reaching out with the Force, she flicked lightly on the Bith's head, forcing him to look around at whom had touched him. The Bith's confusion permeated the Force – there wasn't another being within a five foot radius of him.

Amused, Aurine turned her attention back to the speech, which was thankfully winding down. "Now, I know you are all waiting to get to the dance floor, so let me say it has been a pleasure to have you attend to us here on Chandrilla. I hope you will return home and bring with you some of the wisdom that we have hopefully imparted. Now, I officially declare the dance floor…open!"

The small band started playing a traditional Chandrillan tune, classical but with a modern enough tempo it would suit the current clientele who no doubt would consider the old standards boring. As soon as the music started, Sascha immediately turned and offered his hand to Nara, who quickly accepted it. The two made their way to the main dance floor, joining a good majority of the attendees as they paired up.

Sascha and Nara linked up, his hands around her waist, settling on her lower back. Nara draped her arms around Sascha's shoulders lightly. They were close together, but Aurine never got the sense that it was anything intimate, they just enjoyed being close with each other in a scenario that allowed for such closeness. Both stared for a moment into each other's eyes, and then laughed, before Nara said something and they began to dance.

Had the two of them not been born with Force sensitivity, Sascha Whitestar and Nara Nalto would had possessed all the physical tools necessary to be excellent dancers. Given that they were Force sensitive, had been taught how to dance at the Jedi Temple (learning footwork to dances was a great way to get young Initiates ready to learn combat footwork), and that the two of them knew each other spectacularly well, it wasn't surprising to see how fluidly they moved together.

Aurine watched proudly as they danced slowly, chatting like friends the whole time. It was the almost perfect encapsulation of their friendship, capable of intimate moments like this one, but still very clearly just friends. As the song progressed, they began throwing some flair into their movements, nothing overly spectacular, but enough to draw some attention from those observing the dance. Aurine applauded their maturity, it would have been easy for them to stand out as the best dancers at the event, but they chose not to, appearing good, but not supernaturally so.

The band finished the first song, and they both applauded, but when it came time to potentially choose another partner for the next song, they both stayed together, though Aurine thought she could detect a mischievous look on her Padawan's face. She would soon find out why that was.

The second song was a bit quicker than the first. Nara and Sascha placed their arms around each other's waists and began twirling to the rhythm of the music. Again, they danced well, but they made mistakes. Then she saw the Padawan's legs get tangled up for a brief second and they stumbled and crashed into another pair of dancers and all four of them collapsed in a heap, with Nara and Sascha both taking the worse of the falls.

Sascha immediately helped up the girl that had fallen on him, checking to see if she was all right. Her apprentice apologized profusely to the girl, who Aurine identified as Kylen Ree. Kylen easily accepted the apology and pushed Sascha's shoulder, laughing. Sascha offered his hand to her and she accepted graciously, getting back into the flow of the dance almost immediately.

On the other hand, Nara continued to lay underneath the dancer that had fallen on top of her, and Aurine knew it wasn't because either dancer was hurt. The male Togruta that was currently laying on top of Nara was Osak Boli, heir to a family held technology corporation. What was likely important to Nara was the Togruta was handsome, with nice sharp features on his orange skin, complete with dark blue lekku with white markings. Aurine didn't really have a thing for Togruta men, but she wouldn't have minded trading places with Nara currently.

Nara grinned at Osak, "If you wanted to get this close, all you needed to do was ask."

Aurine wasn't close enough to hear the response, but by the sudden brightness in Osak's lekku and the fact that he still hadn't yet gotten off of Nara there appeared to be a little spark of passion growing between the two Togruta. Eventually, Osak came to his senses and realized that he was making a scene. He picked himself up, but not before subtly brushing his hand across one of Nara's lekku. By the predatory grin that Nara had on her face, Aurine was sure that she hadn't minded the touch.

Aurine moved back to the periphery of the room, laughing a little to herself. Clearly, the Padawans had conspired together to crash into Osak and Kylen, so that Nara could dance with Osak. She wished that she had been that clever when she was younger.

After the successful completion of their plan, Sascha finished his dance with Kylen and bowed politely to her. Before the next song started, another would-be suitor approached Kylen and asked her to dance. Sascha, who was always nothing if not gracious, moved aside and off the dance floor entirely. Still dancing were Nara and Osak, holding each other tightly as they swayed to the music. The two Togruta appeared to be in their own little world, ignoring everything else going on around them.

A part of her wished that Sascha would find a partner and do the same thing that Nara was doing. There were plenty of potential targets to choose from, and Aurine had noticed some of the subtle glances that had been thrown Sascha's way. Though, knowing Sascha, he probably hadn't noticed them. Her Padawan was a bit obtuse when dealing with girls.

She saw Sascha make his way through the small crowd and find her. He used a quick bob of his head to indicate that he wanted to talk somewhere private, and they found a room located off of a corridor that offered the two of them privacy. After she closed the door behind them, she allowed herself a chuckle, "And interesting gambit you and Nara just pulled. You didn't have to do that you know."

"I know," said Sascha, smiling slightly, "I wanted to."

"It's nice to do something selfless for your friend," Aurine allowed.

Sascha smiled wider, "No, I was being quite selfish, I'm afraid. Given the choice of hearing Nara talk about how unfair it was that she never got to dance with that handsome male Togruta over there or hearing her talk about how magical her first dance with him was, I'll take the latter every time." He nudged her playfully, "Besides, I got to dance with her first."

Aurine knew that memory of watching them twirl on the dance floor would be etched in her mind for years to come, "It must have been nice to share that moment with Nara," she observed, "she is one of the prettier young women here tonight. I'm sure many were jealous that you received her first dance. That dress makes her look stunning."

Her apprentice glanced downwards briefly, "That dress looks good on her, but I still prefer the way she looks in her normal robes. That dress just isn't her."

"I think you'd be in the minority opinion when it came to that dress," she observed drolly.

Sascha shrugged fractionally, as if to say 'what do I care about what others think.' She assumed that he would quietly return to the party, probably finding a small group and having a nice conversation as was his usual modus operandi, but he hung around her somewhat awkwardly for a moment longer.

"Yes?" she prodded.

"I want to recruit someone tonight," he said quietly.

"Another addition to Team Whitestar?"

He nodded, "I have a good candidate."

Over the years, Sascha had befriended various people over his many missions, usually young people around his age. Sascha had realized that these friendships that he was making could actually be valuable sources of information. Thus, each of the members of 'Team Whitestar' had the ability to send Sascha a message, no matter where he was in the galaxy. Usually he just conversed normally with his friends, as a sort of long-distance friendship, but occasionally his friends had useful tidbits to act upon. Probably the most successful was when Ezah Reisel, the first member of 'Team Whitestar' had found evidence how organized crime was using her current musical as a way of laundering money. She and Sascha had put an end to that operation.

"The person you want to recruit wouldn't happen to be the cute girl in the black and silver dress with red hair, would it?"

Sascha exhaled softly and closed his eyes for a moment, "You know, I hate that you already knew who I was targeting."

Aurine smiled, but it wasn't the Force that had given her the insight she had needed to determine what girl Sascha had his eye on. Over the years of being around him she had figured out his 'type.' Her apprentice tended to like shorter girls with athletic builds, bonus points for having a flashy hair colour. Species didn't really seem to matter too much to him, which she quietly approved of. Personality wise, he didn't like girls that were too demure or shy, probably because his two closest female friends were well…fierce and confident.

"Her name is Annil Greax, right? The champion _Volto Kari_ fighter and heir to Bacalit Mining, right?"

"Yes, Master."

"Hmm, how are you going to recruit her, apprentice? She doesn't know you are a Jedi. I doubt she'll believe you if you just walk up to her and say you are a Jedi."

Sascha grinned, "I'm going to take it as a challenge."

"You cannot use the Force just to prove you are a Jedi, the Force is to be used with respect," she reminded her apprentice. She doubted that Sascha needed the reminder, he rarely used the Force for anything besides when it was necessary, and he wasn't prone to showing off.

"I know."

"Then it's time for you to get back to the dance."

Not wasting another moment, he turned and headed back down the corridor. Aurine waited a few minutes and returned to the ballroom herself, spotting Sascha off to the side in a small group that included Annil and a couple of other young men and women.

"Good luck, Padawan," she whispered silently a she let her eyes rake the room. She had a job to do after all, right now she was Aurine Brynar, chaperone, and she intended to be the best chaperone there had ever been.

* * *

Around an hour or so later, she felt Sascha give her a signal in the Force and she retreated to the unused room that they had used earlier. A few moments later, Sascha and Annil opened the door and walked in. Annil was a short, slim, but athletic girl, who dressed modestly in comparison to most of the other girls here, though her black and silver dress was still mostly form fitting. By the way that Annil was positioning herself, and by the way that she kept glancing over at Sascha, it was clear that the redhead had more on her mind than just being 'recruited.'

Annil stopped just short of her and put her hands on her narrow hips, "Oh good, this is what is needed, a chaperone so I can get someone else to hear this ridiculous lie Sascha here is perpetrating."

Sascha rolled his eyes at Annil, "Master, this is Annil Greax."

Annil laughed and slapped her thigh, "And so not only am I supposed to believe that you are a Jedi Padawan, I'm supposed to believe that she is your Master? She at least looks like she might be able to fight. Unlike you, I may add."

Aurine ignored Annil, "I see you are not having much success convincing her that you are a Jedi, Padawan."

"She remains unconvinced," he said flatly.

"Obviously," said Annil her voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm. "What do you take me for, an idiot that has never been off her homeworld? There is no reason for a Jedi to be here right now. They are off doing important things, not attending banquets. Now, I was hoping we were going back here so we could do something more, ahem, _interesting_ , but since you persist with this ridiculous lie that you are a Jedi, I'm going to have to go back to the banquet hall and find another cute boy to dance with."

Annil was already halfway turned around when Sascha said, "Wait. I can prove that I'm a Jedi."

The redhead turned back around, " _This_ should be good. How can you prove you are a Jedi." She snapped her fingers, "Wait, I know! You've got something on a repulsorlift somewhere so it will look like you are 'floating' something. Spare me. I came here to find a cute boy to dance with, not be subjected to the lamest scam artists in the galaxy."

"This is going very well, Padawan," she observed lightly.

Sascha shot her a look before returning his attention back to Annil, "You are a martial artist right? I want you to try and hit me. A Jedi should be able to move out of the way. A normal being will get hit."

Annil's cool gray eyes lit up in amusement, "Have you seen my dress? It's not exactly a combat garment."

"That dress is made out of some of the most flexible material in the galaxy. You have full range of movement. A champion fighter like you would never wear some frilly thing that you couldn't move in."

Annil subtly shifted into a combat stance, and glanced in her direction, "You okay if I rough up your quote, unquote, apprentice? You know I am a champion martial artist right? I'm not going to be paying the medical bill that he is very close to earning."

Aurine moved to lean against one of the nearby walls, "Oh, I don't think you can hit him. He's quite good at unarmed combat for a Jedi his age."

"Okay, challenge accepted," said Annil. The redhead turned to face her, "I'd get the number for emergency services already pre-dialed on your comlink. Then when it's over, you can already be prepared to deal with the consequences."

Sascha smiled confidently and settled in to a defensive stance, putting his left foot forward and balancing on the tips of his toes, ready to make a quick movement should it be necessary.

Annil darted into range quickly and launched a jab heading for his chest. Sascha was surprised by Annil's swift movement, but he easily turned and stepped out of the way. Annil rolled her shoulders subtly, trying to throw off Sascha's timing, but he stayed calm, focused on the movements that indicated an attack, not a feint.

Aurine watched the 'fight' with the eye of a combat veteran. Annil was certainly fast, no doubt about that, but her technique, her form was poor. Each little flaw in her technique gave away her intentions before she had even thrown that particular punch or kick. Aurine had never held the martial art of _Volto Kari_ in very high regard before this, and if this girl was a champion in her class…she was going to downgrade it even further. There was nothing wrong with the girl, Annil was fast and tenacious, it was the instructor that was to blame. Aurine wondered how much money she could charge as a combat instructor if she ever left the Jedi Order. Probably quite a bit.

Annil, clearly intrigued by the challenge presented to her, started throwing more elaborate combinations, forcing Sascha to bob and weave as he moved around her punches and kicks. Because Sascha wasn't hitting back, Annil could afford to throw combinations that would get her knocked senseless by a counterattack in a real fight.

Still, her apprentice seemed almost bored by the whole thing. He started calling out what Annil's attacks were going to be before she had even thrown them. "Left cross," he called, pivoting his hips and narrowing his profile so that her fist whizzed by his face. "Right roundhouse kick," he said, ducking and swaying underneath Annil's right leg. Annil stepped forward, throwing three quick punches that all missed by wide margins.

Sascha stepped back, "I don't even know what that was. Do they have a name for 'sloppy three punch combination' in _Volto Kari_?"

Instead of being offended, the _Volto Kari_ practitioner redoubled her efforts, but it was all a waste. Speed was great, but it wasn't enough to land even a glancing blow on a Jedi. Finally, Sascha avoided a wayward punch and as Annil was retracting it, he reached out and grabbed her wrist softly, pulling her towards him. Off-balance, Annil leaned softly against him for support, "You can refer to me as Jedi Padawan Sascha Whitestar anytime now." Annil, her red hair now having fallen down and into her face, didn't break the hold on her wrist for a long moment, looking deeply into Sascha's eyes and keeping the hand that she had used to steady herself on Sascha's chest. He's flirting with her, Aurine realized…and she's enjoying it. Good for you, Sascha.

With a small battle cry, Annil broke the hold on her wrist and stepped back. Annil tried a final attack, which again, Sascha avoided with a minimum of movement. Then, she paused for a long moment before grinning and throwing a leaping knee aimed at Sascha's groin. For the first time, Sascha looked surprised and he just barely managed to slap the knee aside with a hurried movement.

Sascha seemed confused at how he had been fooled, but Annil merely stepped back and out of her combat posture. The girl bowed slightly, "Master Jedi."

Her apprentice continued to look befuddled, "What did you do there? I was sure you were throwing a kick not a knee."

Annil grinned, "Oh, my body posture all said that I was throwing a knee, but I thought _really_ hard about kicking you in the head. There is no way someone as good as you would have been fooled, unless you were reading my actions by some other manner." The redhead had the grace to look ashamed, "I guess I made a fool out of myself in front of a Jedi. That's a first for me."

Sascha smiled magnanimously, "It's okay, you couldn't have known that I was a Jedi. But that was a fun sparring session wasn't it?"

Annil grinned fiercely, "It was! I've never faced someone that could predict me like that. Of course, it's not fair that you could read my mind. Talk about your unfair advantages!"

"Sorry. I never said I was offering you a fair fight," Sascha replied. "But we should go back to the dance, we've been here for quite a while, people will be wondering where we are."

"Could we…stay here for a bit? I wouldn't mind being taught a few things," Annil said, suddenly acting shyly.

Aurine knew exactly what the redheaded girl was implying. It was the old 'teach me a wrestling technique' trick. It was a great way to get a shy boy more comfortable with doing some light touching without it being too obviously romantic. And later during some playful wrestling, when you 'accidentally' pinned him down, you could 'accidentally' start kissing him. She hoped that Sascha would play along with Annil, her Padawan could use a nice reward for a job well done.

"Actually, let's go back. I have something I want to talk to you about, and we can talk while dancing."

Annil smiled, some colour entering her features, "Okay, I'll see you back inside. I think your Master wants to have a word with you first."

The redhead bowed politely to both her and Sascha before leaving, wiggling her hips to Sascha in a provocative manner. Her Padawan stared at her, entranced, until she turned the corner.

"Padawan."

Sascha shook his head as if he was emerging from a daze, "Yes, Master?"

"You know you could stay here, teach her a few things in private. Or if you offered to bring her to your room, I doubt she'd decline."

Sascha blushed, "I think I'd rather get back to the dance. I still have to officially recruit her as well."

"Sascha, open your eyes for a second! That girl _likes_ you, is _attracted_ to you. And you are attracted to her! Yet, all you want to talk about is how you want to recruit her to your little project! How about acting like a normal teenager for once and acting on your attraction! I don't understand why you can't be more like Nara. She never has a problem finding boys she likes and acting upon her attraction."

Her Padawan offered a weak smile, "I think that's the first time you've ever said I should be more like Nara."

"Stop dodging the question, Sascha."

"Master, can't I just be uncomfortable with kissing girls that I've barely met?"

"Yes, that would be fine, totally and utterly fine. But that isn't why you are avoiding Annil and her advances. You are allowed to like and kiss girls Padawan. Especially ones that know exactly what they are getting into and that still want to be kissed _by_ you. Annil is just the latest example of girls that have shown interest in you, girls that you befriend but ignore when they want to plant their lips on yours."

Sascha looked downward and said nothing, so she did her usual motherly thing and laid her hands on both of his shoulders, "Sascha, let me deliver some very un-Jedi like advice. Life is short, and you need to seize the opportunities to have fun because they don't come around that often. The life of a Jedi is one of servitude and subverting your desires. But you don't have to be a Jedi all the time, right now you can be Sascha Whitestar, nineteen year old human male. And I shouldn't have to tell you what someone your age would be doing, do I?"

Her apprentice made no move to brush her hands off his shoulders, he merely looked up at her, his deep brown eyes staring into her face, "I think that because my first kiss was so…traumatic, I've tried to avoid any sort of intimacy with anyone. It's probably not rational, but somewhere in my mind I have this idea that kissing equals bad. That not only will I be hurt by the kiss, that I'll hurt the other person too when I leave."

Aurine thought that he was probably right. Sascha's first kiss had been years ago with Tyra Harker, a fellow Padawan and his best and closest friend from an early age. Their feelings however, became more than just friendship, and the depth of emotion they felt for each other had made them vulnerable to being called to the dark side. It had caused Tyra to briefly tap into the dark side on Kuat, in order to protect Sascha and Sascha had nearly been lulled to the dark side himself over being too attached to his friend. They had eventually come to realize that their friendship had grown into something different, but before they broke it off, they had shared a first kiss.

"You've spent some time thinking about this," she observed.

Her apprentice finally pulled away and started towards the door, "Yes. And I've talked to Nara about it. She said that I should just find the next cute girl and kiss her, and see that I'm being irrational."

"You should listen to Nara's advice."

"I know. I'm just not ready yet."

How was she supposed to respond to that? She settled on something simple, "You have my trust completely Sascha. I'm only lecturing you because I care. No go back and have fun out there, Padawan."

"Thanks, Master."

When he was gone she looked at the ceiling plaintively, "Men, why are they such idiots? I should have picked a female Padawan."

For the next few hours, Annil and Sascha were inseparable. When they weren't dancing, they would find a quiet place of to the side, sit and talk. Annil tried obviously to move things in a more intimate direction, when they were dancing it was always her that wanted to press tightly against him, and even when they were just sitting and talking, she would place her hand on top of his. Sascha, while clearly turned on by Annil, refused to reciprocate the gestures. A lesser woman might have been offended by Sascha's actions. Annil, being a fighter, seemed to take it as a challenge. Aurine, approved, obviously. She just wished Annil had a fighting chance, because she suspected that she didn't.

When Sascha went to the refresher, Annil came to her and stood beside her quietly, "I'm not doing anything wrong with Sascha, am I? I know Jedi have rules around love and stuff. I don't want to be tempting him to do something that he can't do."

Aurine let a slight smile play across her features, "No. You are doing nothing wrong Annil. Jedi reject attachment, not a little bit of fun. My apprentice is…I guess he's just working through some things."

"Bad break-up?"

She considered for a moment, "I guess you could say that."

The redheaded girl glanced around and found Nara and Osak as they were off to the side, talking quietly. Nara's hand was gently rubbing up and down Osak's arm, and in Aurine's opinion it wouldn't be too long before they found a quiet room for some 'old-fashioned' fun. "You know, I thought that Sascha was only interested in the Togruta over there. They were so...inseparable over the past few days, I assumed that they were an item. She's not even a Jedi, is she?"

Aurine smiled, "No, she's a Padawan, like him. Their friendship is a close one, but they are merely friends."

Annil wiped her brow dramatically, "I am _bad_ at trying to figure out if people are Jedi, aren't I?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. We can be pretty normal when we want to be."

"I wish Sascha would be a bit more normal then. It's…like I do a couple of things, and he responds the way I'd like him to, and I'm like 'okay, I'm getting somewhere,' then I'll touch his neck softly or lay my head on his chest and he just tenses up and closes off. It's so frustrating."

"You know that you could go and find another partner to dance and be with. Sascha won't be offended."

Annil glanced up at her, "Oh, _kriff_ no. I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here. I have a Jedi Padawan completely infatuated with me and no matter what he says or does, I'm going to kiss him by the end of the night. The only question that remains is whether I'll have to tackle him first to do so."

"How about I hold him down, and you kiss him."

Annil laughed hard, then she looked at her and realized that she had a completely serious expression on her face, "Oh, you actually meant that. No, I'm a big girl, I'll get what I want. I know that he wants to kiss me. He just doesn't realize it yet."

"Oh he realizes it. He's just worried about acting on it." She then saw Sascha make his way back through the crowd and Aurine decided it was time to make herself scarce, "Good luck, Annil."

Annil bowed her head fractionally before going to meet Sascha. Aurine watched as the red-headed girl slung her arms around Sascha's neck and pulled herself close to him. Sascha's eyes widened and he was about to lower his head to kiss her, when halfway through the motion, he stopped himself.

My Padawan is an idiot, Aurine Brynar decided.

* * *

As the night winded down , Nara and Osak had indeed found somewhere private for what was undoubtedly an amorous session. Sascha and Annil on the other hand were still in a similar holding pattern, much to her chagrin.

Annil it seemed was going to keep her word though, she was clearly just debating how far she would have to go to kiss Sascha. As the two exited the ballroom, Aurine watched as Annil guided him to a little alcove that offered the two of them a little privacy. Quietly, she sneaked into a location that would still allow her to observe them at a distance.

Inside the little alcove, Annil whispered something to him that set off a deep blush in her Padawan's cheeks. She reached up and pulled his head towards hers, puckering her lips expectantly. Sascha allowed himself to be pulled towards her...and then at the last moment he turned his head, letting Annil's lips kiss his cheek. Aurine resisted an urge to use the Force to bring Sascha's head back around to Annil's lips.

The red-headed girl sighed, and then kissed him on the cheek again, softly. Sascha said some words to her quietly, which she guessed were probably something along the lines of 'I'm sorry.'

She decided that she had seen all that she would see from the two of them and headed back to the _Emerald Dream_. When she arrived, Tiplee was already there and preparing the ship for launch. A few minutes later, Nara arrived in her normal robes, having already returned her dress to where she had rented it from. Her cheeks still had some colour to them and the dark red parts of her lekku were brighter than usual. Nara herself was in a buoyant, upbeat, mood and her Force aura radiated happiness.

"It looks like someone had a good night," said Tiplee, amused.

"Fan-tast-ic," said Nara, elongating each syllable of the word. The huge smile on her face told its own story. The Togruta looked around and seemed confused, "I lost track of Sascha though, is he off having fun with that red-headed girl?"

"No. I'm not." Sascha came up the boarding ramp, closing it behind him, looking a little nonplussed.

"What happened?" asked Nara.

"I happened," he said, moving away from the Togruta. Aurine reached out and stopped him with a light touch, "You don't need to say it," said Sascha with a huge sigh.

She made a small gesture of frustration, "Then I won't say anything."

Sascha walked dejectedly to his room and closed the door behind him.

"He'll come around, Master Brynar," said Nara quietly as she moved to stand beside her. "He's still figuring this part of himself out. Considering how he has just about everything else figured out, its only a matter of time before he realizes his mistake. There is room in a Jedi's life for a bit of fun."

She slung an arm around Nara, "I may need to enlist your help to get him to see his mistakes."

The Togruta turned her blue eyes towards her, "I'll help him through it. He's close to a breakthrough, I can feel it. I think he just needs a girl that isn't so insistent, he needs to be the person to make the first move."

"It'll be our little project then," she said. "How was your night?"

Nara smiled, a bit of colour entering the red parts of her lekku, "A lady doesn't kiss and tell. But I enjoyed myself."

She removed her arm from around Nara's shoulder, "Come on, Nara, lets go back to Coruscant. It's a big, dark, galaxy out there, and we have bigger problems to deal with than Sascha's girl problems."


	4. Chapter 4: Assignments

**LordDarthYoda** \- Yup, Sascha is establishing an information network. Might come in handy if some sort of galactic war broke out in a few years? I think that Aurine and Nara are both just trying to say, 'hey, you can live a little.'

 **Speechbubbleme** \- I agree that Aurine is 'right' but Sascha feels like he's not ready for it yet, which is fair enough too. Nara is certainly a flirt, but she knows who to flirt with!

 **Mr. Insane -** Interesting speculation - you might be right on a couple of those points.

 **Bodare2-** Darn. Good catch! Ironically I'm much better at editing other people's writing (I edit legal documents in my dayjob) than editing my own! You will get your request that we'll be getting on with the mission quicker than usual.

 **Tristin-** That's a lot of reading over the past week! Thank you very much for the compliment! I have seen Red vs. Blue but it was a long time ago!

A/N - Alright, time to reveal a mission! Let the speculation begin, heh!

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Assignments**

 _The Present Day_

Aurine Brynar's glass was empty, but she wasn't drunk. She was certainly pleasantly buzzed though. In the seat across from her Tiplee looked similarly pleased. "Good memories," said the Rishati.

"Yes," she agreed.

"When it came to being, uhm, amorous, were you more like Nara or like Sascha when you were younger?" inquired Tiplee.

"First I was more like Nara, but without the restraint," she admitted. "Then I became more like Sascha," she admitted. "I let my guard down around boys too easily when I was younger. It took me a little while to find the appropriate balance between fun and, well, stupidity."

"So that is why you are so insistent that Sascha 'fix' his girl problem, you see him making some of the mistakes you made when you were younger."

That was probably closer to the truth that Aurine was willing to admit, slightly buzzed or not, "Good psychoanalysis. I can see why you are a Jedi Master."

Tiplee smiled wanly, twirling her empty glass, "I would not have made that rank without you, Aurine."

Aurine waved a hand dismissively, "I disagree, you were going to be made a Jedi Master regardless of we if you met me or not."

Tiplee bowed her head in gratitude at her praise, and paused for a moment before speaking again, "I have a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Do you think that Nara and Sascha are ready to go on a mission together?"

She frowned, "Sascha and Nara have been on missions together before."

"Sub-missions, where we are always around. Even on Ubrora, we were on the same planet as them. I meant do you think they are ready for a mission where they'd be completely on their own?"

Aurine felt her eyes widen, "Somehow I don't think you are asking a hypothetical question."

"I'm not," said the Rishati. "Earlier today, while I were waiting for you to arrive, I received two missions from the Council and their suggestion was that our Padawans could be given one of the missions, while we take on the other one together. They've left the final decision up to me, though. Up to us," she clarified

"And the two missions are?"

"One is tracking down a bounty hunter that has gone...shall we say _beyond_ the call of duty in tracking down some bounties. He is to be arrested on a rather lengthy litany of charges. The other mission is investigating some anti-Jedi sentiment at a few institutions of higher learning and if possible, putting an end to it."

It didn't take long for Aurine to figure out which of the missions would be assigned to their apprentices, "So you are essentially giving me the choice of going to track a bounty hunter with you, or to observe my apprentice as he goes undercover at a University."

"Pretty much," replied Tiplee with a knowing smile.

Aurine leaned back in her chair, thinking the scenario over. She has a far-reaching trust in Sascha. Her apprentice was now nineteen and more experienced in the ways of being a Jedi. In her opinion, he was level headed enough to be entrusted with a mission without her direct or indirect supervision. Especially a mission that doesn't seem to bring too much danger to it. Yet, she still has that old disquiet regarding Sascha and Nara being together, alone. But at this point it was a stupid thing to worry about, Nara hadn't shown the slightest bit of interest in Sascha and Sascha was too shy to kiss any girl, let alone Nara.

Aurine decided that it was about time she puts her trust fully behind Sascha and Nara, "I believe that Sascha and Nara are mature enough to handle being on a mission together."

Tiplee nodded solemnly, "I agree. When they get back, we'll give them the good news."

* * *

Sascha Whitestar entered the code to lower the boarding ramp of the _Emerald Dream_. Upon the ramp lowering to the ground, he gestured to the droid that he had rented, which was carrying the supplies that he and Nara had bought. Compliantly, the silver-gray droid, well-laden with the numerous supplies, rolled up the ramp, its motor whirring with the exertion. Once the droid had gotten inside, the droid turned it's optical sensors on him in a silent question.

Sascha waved a hand, "Just put it anywhere. We'll unpack the supplies. Thank you."

The droid lowered the pallet on to the ground, and beeped in satisfaction. Sascha bowed slightly to the droid and the loader droid wheeled itself down the boarding ramp and back towards the shop. Nara closed the ramp once the droid was off the ship.

Aurine and Tiplee soon joined them in the small cargo hold, "You got everything on the list I gave you?" asked his Master.

"Yep," he replied. It had taken a trip to a couple of different stores, but it had been an ordinary supply run, all things considered.

"Did you get anything for yourselves?" inquired Tiplee.

He jerked a thumb at Nara, "She got some of that Quintillan jerky that she likes."

"It's tasty!" said Nara defensively.

"And a mild stimulant for Togruta," he added impishly.

"It's legal on a vast majority of planets in the Republic," Nara retorted.

Sascha nudged Nara lightly on the shoulder, "It's so much fun to get you riled up."

Nara advanced on him, feigning being angry, "Oh, I'll show _you_ riled up."

Sascha ran and hid behind his Master. He peeked at Nara over her shoulder, "Help! She's high on Quintillan jerky! She thinks I'm her next snack!"

Tiplee cleared her throat, instantly the two Padawans stopped their playacting and snapped into an attentive pose, folding their hands politely behind their backs. The Rishati smiled at their instant compliance, "While I generally enjoy your playful banter, I would appreciate if cut it out for just a moment." The Rishati took a deep breath, "Why don't you join Aurine and I in the lounge."

The oddly formal phrasing from Tiplee gave Sascha pause, and he cast a look at Nara to see if she knew what was going on, but the Togruta seemed equally confused. Sascha shrugged, and sauntered towards the small lounge. The four Jedi gathered around the small table, each Padawan shoulder-to-shoulder with their Master.

"We have a mission for you two," said Tiplee without formality.

It took a second for Sascha to process the peculiar phrasing, "For me and Nara?"

His Master turned her head towards him and smiled slightly, "Yes. You two have proved time and again that you are an effective pairing. You are both older now, and more than mature enough to handle being on your own together. This mission that we have for you is a good fit for your skills."

Across from him, Nara was trying, and failing, to keep her delight off of her face. He wasn't quite sure what his expression was at the moment, but he was probably doing something similar. Tiplee grinned knowingly at the two apprentices, "I know this is a big moment for you two. Your friendship has been one that has invited scrutiny at times, but Aurine and I also wanted to show the faith that we have in both of you."

"Where are we going? What is our mission?" asked Nara excitedly.

Tiplee pressed a button on her datapad, and Sascha heard his datapad beep, indicating that a file had been transferred to it, "I've sent you two the mission profile. I want you and Nara to look over the mission and give us a plan as to how you are going to complete it."

"Be open ended," Aurine advised, "As you know what is written on the datapad before a mission is rarely what you get when you actually arrive at the planet. Still, planning does have its uses."

Nara bounced off her seat enthusiastically, "Come on, lets go to your room and start planning, Sascha." The Togruta put words to action and took off for his room. Sascha offered a slight shrug to the two Jedi Knights and followed the Togruta to his room.

Nara had already set herself up on his bed, plugging her datapad into an open charging port. He joined the Togruta on top of his bed, flipping his datapad open. The first thing Sascha looked for was where their mission was taking them to. He sifted through the information that he had been given and found that the name of the planet was Estimar. He blinked once, and then glanced over at Nara. Nara was still staring intently at her datapad, so he surmised that either she hadn't discovered what planet they were being sent to, or she didn't know what was special about Estimar.

After surreptitiously observing Nara for a moment, he finally got a moment of satisfaction when her eyes widened and she looked over at him, with an expression of surprise on her face. "Are they really sending us to Esitmar?" she asked.

"Looks that way," he replied.

Nara blinked a couple more times, "So not only are we being sent on a mission together, we are being sent to a planet where we'll be probably have to go as a _couple!_ "

"I guess our Masters really have faith in us," he said as he smiled slightly at the over the top reaction from Nara.

Estimar was a planet that was average in just about every way, but culturally, the colonists of Estimar had developed an odd quirk that had survived over many thousand of years. Knowing that most beings, regardless of species, were happier when they had a significant other. A large bureaucracy had been set up on planet that helped match up beings that wished to find a partner or lover. It was almost as if Estimar ran it's own planet wide dating service. It was an idea that sounded ludicrous, but seemed to have worked out well for the Estimarians. The planet had a healthy economy and Estimar was was routinely ranked as one of the happiest planets in the Republic.

But, as it related to the mission, Estimar presented some problems. Because a vast, vast percentage of Estimarians were in a relationship of some kind, it was almost something of a cultural oddity to be single. So, to try to not stand out too much, it made sense that he and Nara would have to fake being in a relationship together. Sascha smiled slightly to himself, he and Nara had faked being in relationship before, but they were, generally speaking, terrible, at convincing anyone that they were actually a couple. Despite their strong friendship, both of them were uncomfortable about even pretending that they were anything more than that.

"It's not the worst thing in the world," he said to Nara.

Nara shrugged languidly, "I know. I just prefer to think that I have at least a chance of making out with a cute boy on my travels."

Sascha put a look of faux seriousness on his face, "My fake girlfriend should desire no other male then her fake boyfriend."

Nara reached out and shoved his shoulder jovially, "Lets not even joke about this."

He bowed his head slightly, "That sounds like a good idea."

Nara smirked, "Come on, if we work hard it should only take us an hour or so to plan out the logistics for this mission – then we can finish that holomovie series that we started a few months ago."

"That holomovie series," snorted Sascha derisively, "How dare you refer to the critically acclaimed masterpiece _The Masterless Jedi_ , like it was some mediocre Togruta comedy show."

The Togruta grinned and bowed in her seated position, "Of course, my apologies."

 _he Masterless Jedi_ was an ongoing holomovie that was all the rage back on Coruscant. The show followed the adventures of Kuri Farless, a force-sensitive on a remote world outside the Republic that had somehow not been tested for Force-sensitivity while young. Kuri had stumbled upon a reclusive old Jedi Master that had left the Jedi for reasons unknown. Kuri and the Jedi Master struck up a friendship, and eventually the Jedi Master had agreed to train him.

 _The Masterless Jedi_ had won many awards and praise for its storytelling and realistic plot elements, it was, in short, a cultural phenomenon. It was perhaps inevitable that such a show would make its way to the Jedi Temple. Most people would be surprised to learn that the show was immensely popular amongst the Padawans and younger Knights of the Jedi Order. But it was not because the Jedi thought the show was a good drama. No, every Jedi he had talked to found the show to be one of the most inspired comedies they had ever seen.

Sascha grinned to himself and went back to work.

While he and Nara were not as effective a pairing when it came to doing research as Tyra and him had been, or even as effective as he was when doing research with his Master, the plan that they constructed came together quickly. By the time they were both satisfied that they both had a good plan and could defend that plan from what was likely to be an intense grilling by their Masters, almost three hours had passed.

When he and Nara left his room, he found that while Tiplee was working quietly in the small lounge of the _Emerald Dream_ , he found his Master meditating quietly in her room. "Hi Master," he said quietly.

Aurine's eyes fluttered open almost immediately, "You are done?"

"Yes, Master."

"I await your briefing then."

He smiled, "So formal, Master."

Aurine smiled mischievously, and she shoved him with her left arm as she exited the room.

"Careful, Master, or I'll shove you back."

"I would like to see you try," said Aurine, without breaking stride. The two Jedi Knights took their usual spot in the lounge, but he and Nara decided to remain standing.

"You two took a while," observed Aurine.

"We wanted to make a good first impression," replied Nara.

Tiplee gestured at them to start as she kicked up her legs to rest on the table, a gesture she had seemed to pick up from working with Aurine so often.

Nara began, "Sascha and I are responding to a request from the Estimarian Police Force and a couple of the Universities in the capital of Estimar, Apren. The authorities report that there is a growing anti-Jedi sentiment growing at these Universities. While it isn't uncommon that students at institutions of higher learning question the role of the Jedi within the Republic, the extent of the unrest on Estimar seems to be an outlier. The police indicate that they believe it is only a matter of time before this sentiment becomes organized and they start making demands. They'll start small, of course, demanding that pro-Jedi professors leave. But eventually they will garner media attention, and their movement may grow and spread to other worlds. Obviously, we'd like such a thing not to happen."

"What is it these people want?" asked Aurine.

Sascha answered, "They want the Jedi gone from the Republic. Immediately. They want the Republic to revoke the leases of the land that the Jedi Temple, and any other Temples are built on. They want to seize our operational funds, arguing that if we are truly an organization that believes in austerity, that we do not need an operating budget. Or a large Temple in the middle of Coruscant. There are other things, but essentially, they'd like to see the Jedi be, by and large either gone or replaced by local police forces or the Judicials."

"So basically they want us to stop being Jedi," said Tiplee unhappily.

His Master continued to look more and more frustrated as the conversation progressed. She slammed her fist hard on the table, "Does it matter to these people that we don't take a dime in money from the Republic? And that while admittedly, we do have a substantial war chest, we spend most of the money that comes in on charitable projects?"

He spoke up, "I think even if they knew about it, which they may not, since we try to not draw publicity to ourselves, they'd say that we shouldn't be donating money anyway. They'd prefer that we don't exist, really."

His Master rapped her fingers against the table, "I wonder if they know that our operating funds tend to come from those that donate to us of their own free will."

Tiplee placed a hand on her chin, musing, "I think our finances are so strong we could suspend taking donations and just operate on the interest that our funds accrue."

Nara held a hand up, "Master, you are sidetracking my briefing."

Tiplee nodded, "Apologies apprentice, please continue."

"Like I was saying…" drawled Nara, "Our mission is to find out all we can about these anti-Jedi protesters. Both Sascha and I feel rather strongly that we should not be arresting these people, but trying to make them see the error of their ways. If we just arrest them, they'll probably feel that they are being repressed by the Jedi, and it will make them even more determined to pursue their agenda. We need to defuse and deescalate this movement."

Tiplee and Aurine both nodded in approval. Aurine spoke up, "A very mature plan, Padawans, but one that might be difficult to pull off."

He glanced at Nara before he voiced his opinion, "I think we might as well set our goals high and adjust them accordingly as we go along."

"And how are you going to find these anti-Jedi students? I doubt they go around advertising themselves," pointed out Aurine.

Nara smiled conspiratorially at the two Jedi Knights, "We have some ideas. But our basic plan is to blend in as much as possible. The Estimarians have agreed to send us documents that will allow us to get through customs and to enroll in to Apren Polytechnic. Hopefully it won't take long to find these anti-Jedi students and we can go from there."

"Speaking of blending in," said Aurine, as she cracked her knuckles, "Are you ready to pretend to be a couple?"

Both Padawans sighed loudly. "Yes, we'll go to Estimar as a couple," he said. "It makes the most sense, and, while I don't think either of us are thrilled about faking being a couple, we can pull it off. Nara has agreed that I can put my arm around her without taking that arm and breaking it."

"In return I've agreed that there will be no cuddling, no looking into each other's eyes, and we will absolutely not give each other a cute nickname. I will however, beat the absolute stuffing out of any girl that tries to make a move on Sascha." Nara shrugged, "I believe that is fair."

"She drives a hard bargain," he said drolly.

Both senior Jedi didn't seem to be amused by their joking.

"Tough crowd," observed Nara.

"While I do appreciate your levity, Padawans," said Tiplee, "This is a serious assignment, and you are being given serious responsibility. We hope that you are taking this seriously."

"We are," said Nara. "It's just that playing around has always been a part of our friendship and it would be difficult to stop it entirely, especially as it will be part of our cover in this undercover mission."

"Just be careful that you don't overdo it," warned Aurine.

"We've gone undercover before, Master. We haven't blown our cover yet," he said defensively.

"We've just come really close," said Nara with a smile. "Remember when that grandmother asked us to kiss each other?"

Sascha's cheeks reddened, "I came up with a good cover story."

"Being allergic to kissing was _not_ a good cover story," said Aurine.

"It was the best I could improvise. Plus, it worked. She didn't report us."

"Next time, just use a mind trick," Aurine said, rolling her eyes.

"Duly noted, Master Brynar. But do we have approval of our plan?"

The two senior Jedi shared a look and both nodded, "Your plan is approved," said Tiplee. "Would you like to be dropped off right on Estimar?"

"Actually," said Nara, "We'd like it if you dropped us off at a space station. We need to buy clothes that are appropriate for people our age, and I'd like to do that off-planet."

* * *

With the Padawans asleep, Tiplee and Aurine were in the cockpit of the _Emerald Dream_ plotting the course for their next jump. Aurine felt wistful about the idea of letting Sascha go on his own. Which was crazy – she had given him assignments where she hadn't seen him or heard from him in days. But this felt like truly letting go. In a way, she was giving up an attachment to Sascha.

"Do you think they are ready?" she asked Tiplee.

"They are. And they aren't."

"Cryptic."

"And correct," said the Rishati. "They are ready to be on their own. I don't doubt that at all. But they are not _used_ to being on their own, they are used to being able to turn to us whenever they get in trouble. Now they'll have to rely on their own decisions. It will be a transition. I think they are both up for it, but it could be a bit tricky."

"You are sounding less confident than you were earlier," she observed.

Tiplee shrugged and leaned back in her seat, "I'm still confident. I just don't expect everything to go smoothly for them. And I think that will be the most important lesson for the Padawans to learn." She glanced over at her, "Let us be honest, the mission that they having been given is not very dangerous."

"I think it will be a good learning experience," she said confidently. "Are you prepared to go track down a fearsome bounty hunter?"

"I am."

"You are?" She and Tiplee had barely started planning their mission, outside of doing a slight bit of preparatory research.

"I picked a great partner to go hunting with," the Rishati said, lolling her head to look over at her.

Aurine bowed her head, "You are too kind to me."

"Nara and Sascha aren't the only Jedi that work well together on this ship," said Tiplee.

"I agree, my friend."

Tiplee was silent for a moment before speaking, "There is a piece of wisdom on my planet that says, 'The best weapon to bring to the battle is not be a sword, or a shield or a gun, it is your faith in the warrior beside you.'"

"A nice saying," Aurine replied.

"I've always liked it," said Tiplee as she looked outside the viewport. "I've turned this whole thing fairly maudlin haven't I?"

"You have a tendency to do that."

"Ah, well that's something to work on."

"If you and I are going to hunt together, I'll help you with that."

Tiplee stood and started walking out of the cockpit, but as she passed her chair, Tiplee grabbed her shoulder firmly, "Deal, my friend."

Aurine waited until the door was closed before speaking quietly to herself, "I have a lot of odd friends." But at least her life would never be boring.


	5. Chapter 5: Departures

**LordDarthYoda** \- I think that exploring things like anti-Jedi sentiment pre Clone wars is something that will actually eventually be shown in a comic or something, but I think its a fun topic and it gives a nice story to explore. And as you know I try to avoid cliche's as much as possible (while still indulging in many) so if you think you know where the relationships are going...you are probably wrong!

 **Speechbubbleme** \- Having odd friends just makes your life more enjoyable. Sometimes more hectic, but often enjoyable in the end.

 **Sourmilk -** The Nara-Sascha relationship comes from my experiencing having many close female friends over the years. Always write what you know :). I do think the next few chapters as the Padawans go undercover will be quite amusing. And good point about characters reaching a plateau and never changing...I do think thats a valid concern that I should keep in mind - thanks for that.

 **Bodare2-** I see what you mean about how the interludes could feel like filler. I wasn't quite sure how to handle the opening of this book to be honest, but the flashbacks set kind of lighter tone which I intend to carry through for most of this book. Thanks for finding my errors, as always :).

 **Nuada Silverhand** \- Does it mean that I'm old and out of touch when I had to google what a CHERUB agent was...and that I still couldn't figure it out? Yup, we'll be right into the thick of things soon enough. **  
**

A/N - So I wanted to take a brief moment to discuss this mission. By the end of the Clone Wars, the Jedi Order was no more, and instead of the galaxy being outraged, there was nothing. The Jedi Order, who for thousands of years guarded the Old Republic, fell with barely a protest. To me, that means that a three year war, no matter how punishing, could not have been the only thing that sunk the Jedi. That means there had to be parts of the public that had already turned on the Jedi Order, and I wanted to explore how these people might view the Jedi, before the war.

I also wanted to have a mission where the characters aren't in mortal danger during every waking moment. The last book, I quite enjoyed writing, but it was a slog to have your characters always near the end of the rope for like 20+ chapters. It was depressing to write, really. So this book has a slightly lighter tone, intentionally. I wanted this book to be slightly more 'fun' while remaining serious. I hope I succeed...

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Departures**

"150 credits to dock? Are you high on spice? I'm just dropping off two passengers, I'll be gone within minutes of docking! I'm not paying 150 credits for that!"

Nara Nalto listened with some amusement as Aurine tried to haggle with the rather bored sounding docking administrator. Despite being a Jedi Knight, Nara didn't think that the administrator was going to budge, though 150 credits did seem like a rather large sum just to dock their ship. Ultimately though, they didn't have much of a choice. But if Nara had learned one thing about Aurine Brynar, she had learned that Aurine was sometimes stubborn for the sake of being stubborn.

"I'm considering just firing my passengers out our airlock and hoping that they survive the decompression on the way to _your_ airlock," continued Aurine in a threatening tone of voice.

"I think I'd like to object to that," Sascha drawled to her.

Nara smiled. She was in a rather upbeat mood today. She had been assigned a mission, a real mission. Not some side part of a mission, but a real, honest to goodness assignment. And she was going to do it with her best friend by her side. Sometimes, her life was pretty good.

She and Sascha were dressed in nondescript beige jumpsuits for the occasion. They looked fine on him, because he was a guy and men's clothing seemed to be utilitarian enough that a male could just throw on whatever clothes he'd found on the floor and look somewhat presentable. She really hated the way the jumpsuit looked on her. For one, beige was not her colour. For another, the jumpsuit was baggy enough that hid all of her good aspects, she was thin and in shape and liked showing that off, but she couldn't in this baggy...contraption. Too bad she couldn't wear that dress from Chandrilla again. She remembered looking absolutely beautiful in that dress.

Eventually Aurine gave up on her argument with the docking administrator and transferred the required docking fee to the station. She and Sascha waited for Aurine to bring the _Emerald Dream_ to the docking arm of Calvais station, their destination. Her Master appeared behind them, looking at the two of them with a look of barely concealed pride on her face. Nara left Sascha's side and went to receive a tame embrace from her Master. Over the past year, they'd really grown close and she wasn't afraid to show her affection for her Master. Other Jedi probably judged her for that. She didn't care. There wasn't anything in the Jedi code that said you had to have the emotions of a droid.

"You'll do well, apprentices," said Tiplee.

"We will," said Nara.

Aurine now joined them as well, "You have the ability to contact us, but short of being in jail and being held for immediate execution, I don't want to be contacted. This is your mission and I'm expecting you to handle it on your own."

"Great pep talk, Master," Sascha remarked dryly.

"I always was an inspiring speaker," Aurine quipped. The blonde-haired Jedi Master reached out and ruffled Sascha's hair with her hand, "You'll do fine. We'll see you back at the Temple."

"Take care of my ship," said Sascha. "It hasn't crash landed in like two years. This is a streak I'd like to maintain."

"We will," said Aurine.

Sascha gestured down the tube, "Ladies first."

Nara mockingly glowered at him before hitting the button that opened up the docking arm on their end. The two Jedi used the docking arm to take the short walk from the _Emerald Dream_ to Calvais Station. The station was a bit on the older side, but had been used for about 600 years as a central way point for travelers wishing to reach the Hydian Way, one of the main hyperspace lanes in the galaxy. Many passage liner and tour companies used it as a waypoint to drop passengers off, so that they could be transferred to smaller ships that would take them to their destination. That was what she and Sascha were going to do and they had already booked their tickets aboard a small liner that would take them to Estimar, the ultimate destination.

The problem was that their ship left in seven hours. Which meant they had a _lot_ of time to kill before it was time for departure. On the plus side, it would give them time to go shopping for new clothes to wear, ones that were more appropriate for two beings their age.

She was _sure_ Sascha was looking forward to it as much as she was.

The two Jedi made their way through the bustling station to drop off their luggage at the terminal. Nara hadn't packed much, but she had packed some treats (including some of her favourite jerky), her Jedi robe and crucially, her lightsaber. In fact, neither Sascha nor her currently had their lightsaber on them. Had Calvais Station not been one of the safer, quieter space stations in the sector, they might have chosen to conceal their lightsabers, but as it was, neither Jedi was particularly worried about their safety. Even without their lightsabers, they were still incredibly proficient fighters.

Sascha looked back in the direction where the _Emerald Dream_ had been a few minutes ago, "They just jumped to hyperspace."

There was no question as to who 'they' was, as Nara had also felt her Master's presence dim slightly, indicating that she was no longer in close proximity to her. "Yeah. Feels weird."

"That we are so far away from them?"

"That they aren't our safety blanket anymore," said Nara.

"We'll be okay," said Sascha.

"I don't doubt that," she said. "It just feels like we've just taken this next step in our lives. Our next piece of progress on our path to being Jedi Knights."

"Well, at least we get to do it together. We'll be our own safety net."

"Lets not even _need_ a safety net," she said, smiling.

Sascha looked around the bustling spaceport, "So, what do you want to do for seven hours?"

"We need to go shopping."

"Uh, what for?"

"Clothes, you doufus. Or are you just planning on wearing that bland jumpsuit for the whole mission?"

"Uh, why not?" asked Sascha.

Sascha was so dense sometimes. "Because _normal_ people our age don't go around wearing jumpsuits that I'm pretty you could buy in bulk."

Sascha looked at his jumpsuit, "I don't know, I kind of like it."

"You would." Nara grabbed Sascha's arm and dragged him towards the part of the space station that had the shopping district. She was sure she could find some shop that would sell some decent clothes... Force, it was bad enough that Sascha was going to have to play her 'boyfriend' when they reached Estimar, he could at least dress the part!

Sascha offered some half-hearted protests as they walked, but inevitably, he bowed to the fact that they were going clothes shopping. Nara hid a tiny smile, Sascha was just so…obedient. _Definitely_ one of his better traits, she thought.

After doing some quick window shopping, she finally spied a store with some advertising posted outside that looked interesting.

 _Slatic's Custom Clothes_

 _Couples: Dress Your Partner! Buy One outfit, Get the Other 50% Off!_

She squinted, "Isn't that one of those custom design places. Where you can design a garment and they'll make it for you on the spot?"

Sascha nodded, "Yeah, Slatic's is a popular chain of stores that does that. The twist is that two people go in to design their clothes at the same time, and they design the clothes for their partner. The stores are popular amongst young people, and are often used as a 'first date' sort of outing."

"That sounds like fun. But how in the Force did you know all that?"

"I read things, Togruta. Then I remember them," Sascha said haughtily.

Nara rolled her eyes. Sascha was trying to get a reaction from her, but she wasn't going to play along. However she quite liked the idea of getting something made at this store. It seemed more fun than just trying on clothes for an hour. "Why don't we do it?"

"Shop at Slatic's? It's pretty expensive."

"But is the quality good? Do you know?"

He hesitated, "They have a good reputation for quality."

"Sounds like it's perfect for what we need then," she said, grabbing Sascha's hand and pulling him towards the store.

Sascha resisted for a moment before relenting, "Okay, but we get to do something _I_ want to do afterwards."

"Yeah, fine whatever."

The two Jedi entered the store, which had a small storefront that was manned by a middle-aged and rather bored looking Twi'lek. Still, when she noticed them entering the store, her smile was friendly and welcoming. "Hi there, welcome to _Slatic's Custom Clothes._ How can I help you today?"

"I think we're interested in the deal you posted outside," said Nara.

The Twi'lek nodded amiably, "It's very popular amongst young couples such as yourselves."

She was halfway started on correcting the Twi'lek that she and Sascha were absolutely _not_ a couple, when Sascha reached out with his arm and pulled her in close, "Thanks!" he said, smiling beatifically. "We've been a couple for six months now, and I think I fall more in love with her each day." Then he leaned in close to her, "That's payback for making me do this," he whispered

"I'm going to remember this next time we spar," she whispered back.

The Twi'lek, oblivious to their private conversation smiled at them and continued, "I think you two are a very cute couple. Now to explain the pricing, you pay for a rental of the two designing booths, for 20 minutes, its 25 credits. Then when you are inside, you create the clothes for your partner and the cost of whatever you create for them will be displayed. All of our custom designs are available within 3 hours of purchase as they are manufactured by our droids on site to your exact specifications. Any questions?"

"One," said Sascha. "Is there anyone that could help me in picking out clothes? I'm basically fashion dense. I can barely dress myself, let alone my beautiful girlfriend."

Nara plastered a fake smile on her face and started thinking of all the ways she was going to pay Sascha back for that comment.

The Twi'lek attendant smiled and nodded, "All of our booths come with a helper AI that will provide you with unbiased fashion advice – this AI is updated constantly so it is aware of the latest fashion trends on many planets."

Sascha wiped his brow dramatically, "That is a relief."

Nara was doing her best not to elbow Sascha in the side. He could be so annoying when he was being forced to do something he didn't want to do. She forced herself to continue to smile and handed over a paycard, "We'll pay for a 20 minute rental, and you can take the cost of the clothes off my card as well."

The paycard itself traced back to a bank on Coruscant that had her name and information on it. The bank itself had no idea that she was a Jedi, making it perfect to use in this situation. All Jedi had a similar account with a fair amount of funds on it, meaning that if they needed to, they could make a medium-sized purchase from their account, because sometimes, you really needed to rent a speeder and you didn't have time to haggle over credits.

Of course, these accounts were also subject to review, you didn't want to be the Padawan who used their account for something frivolous. This was, of course, a totally legitimate purpose for their mission, she and Sascha would probably donate their clothes to charity once they were finished the mission, which was a shame, but prevented attachments. After all, a Jedi shouldn't get too used to wearing fancy or fashionable clothes.

The Twi'lek swiped her card over her reader, smiled and handed it back to her, "You two are good to go. We have two booths available right now if you'd like to get started?"

She looked at Sascha, "I think we'd both like to get started."

* * *

Sascha Whitestar entered the darkened booth and immediately regretted letting Nara talk him into this. The booth was a fair size, large enough to walk around in, but it felt claustrophobic to him. The light from a single holoprojector illuminated the room. Currently, it displayed the logo of Slatic's Custom Clothes, every few seconds it would change languages, from Basic to Aurbesh to…languages he couldn't even possibly determine what they were. He didn't see Slussi though, which probably made sense – he doubted too many Sluissi shopped here.

"Greetings," said a pleasant voice that reminded him of a protocol droid.

"Hi," he replied to the empty room.

"My name is N1-2O, and I'm here to provide you wish any assistance you may need to find what you are looking for. Have you shopped at Slatic's before?"

"Uh, no."

"Then let me describe how this works," the voice said pleasantly. "Once you stepped into our booth, we took a full body scan of both you and your Togruta friend. This allows us, using the holoprojector, to display exactly what the new clothes will look like on miss…"

"Nalto. Nara Nalto."

"Indeed. Once you provide instructions as to what you'd like her clothes to look like, our algorithms will project choices for you to select."

Sascha blinked as a wide variety of clothes, from tops to pants were suddenly on full display in front of him. There were short halter tops, and modest tunics and they all constantly shifted, as if to impress upon him that his choices were almost unlimited. "If I want to narrow down my search, how do I do that?"

The holographic figure of Nara returned, dressed in tight, generic looking clothes. "Can you put some more clothes on her?" he said as he turned away from the projection. It was bad enough that he was playing dress up with Nara as it was, he didn't want to even think about the indulging the fantasy of dressing Nara in some exotic dancer's outfit or something – even just in holographic form.

"Okay sir, we've given her something more appropriate to wear."

When Sascha turned around, Nara was dressed in a black jumpsuit that Nara probably would have loathed wearing as it was so baggy. But at least it was modest.

"Okay sir, so to get started, I want you to provide me with the answers to some basic questions. Where are you traveling to?"

"Estimar."

"And will these clothes be for work, or school or casual…"

"School and casual."

"I see. So something you could wear to class and then to the cantina afterwards."

Sascha nodded, "Exactly."

"Could you describe Ms. Nalto for me? Don't describe what she likes to wear, describe who she _is_."

This was getting weird, Sascha thought. "She's, uh, athletic, fearless, tough, resolute…but she's also kind, compassionate, playful, and one of the best people I know."

The program seemed to pause for a moment. "I'm going to display some outfits for you, based on your description and popular clothing trends for Togruta females on Estimar. Simply point at an outfit and it will be shown on our projection of Ms. Nalto for your convenience."

"So I can see how it looks on her."

"You've got it."

"This should be fun," Sascha muttered.

He was sure that the program had overheard what he had said, but he was glad that it chose not to comment on his utterance of frustration. He really didn't want to be doing this. He would have been totally fine for Nara to pick out clothes for both of them while he did...just about anything else in the galaxy besides clothes shopping.

After a few moments, the projector changed and now he was staring at about 10 different variations of clothes on Nara. Some were clearly more casual and some were more formal, the most common colour combination was black and red, which he immediately saw was a winning combination of colours on his friend. He also couldn't help noticing how much of Nara's skin was showing, especially around the chest. Sascha did appreciate cleavage like any other male his age, but he didn't think Nara was particularly fond of showing off. Nara was fond of pretty clothes, but she didn't seem to be particularly fond of being that…exposed. Nara would show you her flirty side, but only on her terms. And honestly, Nara didn't need to show skin to be pretty.

"Too much skin in showing, I think."

There was silence for a moment and then the 10 variations changed again, keeping the black and red colour theme, but getting rid of some of the excess skin that had been showing. Some outfits left Nara's arms or shoulders bare, but besides that she was generally covered from head to toe. Sascha took his time in examining each outfit. Nara looked good in all of the outfits, but there wasn't an outfit that seemed to exemplify his friend.

"Can I see some additional choices?"

"Of course sir, but maybe I could ask you some questions to help narrow down your choices?"

"Go ahead."

"Are the colours a good fit for your friend?"

"Could maybe add in some grey, but otherwise its good."

The 10 outfits now changed to show the same outfits, but now with more grey shading. "Is there any part of these outfits that you think fit your friend well?"

Sascha pointed at one of the figures, "The boots on that one. Nerf hide?"

"Indeed, well treated, and they come with a ten year guarantee."

Sascha looked at the boots again, they went partly up to Nara's calf, but he liked how the black, grey and red intermixed. It seemed like something Nara might wear. "Let's keep those."

"How about the pants – did you see anything that you like?"

Sascha didn't know much about fashion, but he did know that Nara liked wearing skirts when possible, as long as she had leggings to go with them. "How about a skirt and legging combination."

"They are coming back into fashion," mused N1-2O. "I assume that short, athletic skirts would be Miss Nalto's preference."

"I…suppose so," he said.

The picture of Nara changed from her wearing pants to her wearing a tight gray skirt that ran to just above her knee along with slightly darker grey leggings. Paired with her black, red and gray boots, it looked pretty good. "I like that. Can you recommend a top that goes with that?"

After a moment, a couple of options appeared. Sascha immediately dismissed a couple of shirts with short sleeves, the weather on Estimar was too cold to leave so much of her arms bare. There were a few long sleeved options that looked like Nara might like, so he cycled through those quickly until he found a nice black and red shirt that complimented both Nara's purple colouring and the previously selected pants and boots.

"Okay, that should do it then."

"Very well done sir. Would you like to see the price?"

"I'd rather not know," he said.

"But you want to complete the purchase?"

He hesitated for a moment then said, "Yes."

"Well, we'll have the clothes for Miss Nalto ready for her in approximately three standard hours.

That would give them plenty of time to pick them up, get changed and get to their connecting flight, "Sounds good."

* * *

Nara Nalto was having _so_ much fun playing dress up with Sascha Whitestar. She was probably lucky that she only had less than half a standard hour to choose an outfit, as she easily could have spent hours browsing through virtual clothes and having Sascha 'model' them for her.

Having Sascha as a model was kind of odd, though. While she usually didn't think much (or at all) about Sascha's physical attractiveness, having to pick out clothes for him had reminded her that he wasn't all that hard on the eyes. With nice, if not excessive muscle definition, and very little body fat, Sascha really could look like a fighter…until you looked at his face, with his kindly eyes and soft features, he hardly looked all that dangerous. A contradiction was Sascha Whitestar, and a decently appealing one at that. Of course she still had a strong preference for Togruta males, and would have loved the ability to switch out Sascha for a tall, athletic Togruta of any colour. Maybe once she was done picking out clothes for her friend she could get the computer to do that….

Nara had never and would never deny liking boys. It had always struck her as dishonest to pretend otherwise. Flirting was fun. Kissing was fun. As her Master had told her – they were both fun in moderation. She understood inherently that the flirting and making out that she got to do (rarely!) was only because her Master tolerated it – it was a privilege that could be lost if she was stupid. So she wasn't.

Nara decided that she had indulged her inner shopper enough and started quickly sifting through the choices, picking out clothes that would both look good on Sascha and meet his approval. While Sascha was an inherently conservative person, he had shown that he didn't mind having a bit of flair in his clothes, what with the ribbons in his Padawan braid and what not, so she picked clothes that would make him look stylish, but not overly so.

She smiled, if Sascha was going to be her boyfriend for this trip, he was damn sure going to look good. She just hoped that Sascha had picked out some decent clothes for her. If he hadn't...well...they still had more time for clothes shopping.

* * *

A few hours later, he and Nara were back at the store and waiting for the Twi'lek clerk to return with their newly bought clothes. Sascha was vaguely excited. He was slightly confused by that emotion, but he supposed that he didn't get the chance to have things bought for him very often. But he was also kind of nervous about the clothes he'd picked out for Nara. He really hoped she liked them, if only for fact that if she didn't they'd have to do more clothes shopping, which sounded horrendously boring.

The Twi'lek emerged from the back and handed them two slips of flimsy with numbers on them, "Those slips indicate what changing room your new clothes have been placed in. If you have any questions, come back and ask."

"Thanks," said Sascha. He then turned to Nara, "Let's see what we bought each other."

"If you didn't get me something cute, I'll never forgive you," Nara said with a smile.

He turned to the Twi'lek, "Tough crowd."

"It's not the first, nor the last time I'll hear something like that," said the Twi'lek.

Nara was already halfway down the hall, so Sascha figured it was time to find his room as well. When he found his room, he entered the entry code that was written on the door and the door slid open for him. When he stepped inside, the door closed behind him. The room that he entered was small, and the only thing was his new clothes. Sascha analyzed them. The shirt was a dark red with a high, almost military cut collar with long sleeves. It was an old-fashioned button- up shirt, which would reveal a bit of the undershirt underneath near the neck and chest. It was overall a classy yet casual shirt, close enough in colour and style that it reminded him of his Jedi robes. Though he hadn't seen how it looked on him, he was pleased by Nara's choice.

The pants were black and pretty non-descript which suited him fine, and he was surprised to see that Nara had chosen to get shoes for him instead of boots. He'd almost always worn boots, shoes just didn't provide the right amount of support, usually. Sascha tried them on and revised his opinion, as they were amongst the most comfortable footwear he'd ever worn. He supposed it wasn't a bad trade off.

Sascha put on the rest of his new outfit and look at himself in the mirror that had been provided. He looked…good. While the outfit was clearly different than his Jedi robes, he didn't feel like these clothes were too different. They were certainly more comfortable, more casual, but still something that he wouldn't have too much trouble wearing. Nara, as he had expected, had done a good job in picking out clothes for him.

Sascha exited his room to find Nara already waiting for him in the lobby of the store. By Nara's upbeat posture, Sascha could already tell that she liked the clothes. Well, that was a disaster potentially avoided, thought Sascha. After Sascha got a good look at his friend, he decided that Nara did look good in the clothes, they looked so comfortable on her it seemed like she had been wearing them for years. The clothes worked nicely, he thought, showing off her lithe and athletic body without being too revealing.

Nara turned and nodded at him approvingly, "That's a much better look for you."

He bowed sarcastically, "I'm only as good looking as my tailor allows me to be."

"My tailor did a good job too."

Nara turned and thanked the Twi'lek attendant before exiting the store. "That was an experience."

"It certainly was interesting. You like the skirt?"

"Yeah, it was a good choice, good colouring. I like the leggings more than the skirt, but the skirt's definitely cute." Nara punched him lightly on the arm, "Good job, boyfriend."

"Please don't call me that."

Nara laughed mischievously, and Sascha realized his mistake. Now that Nara knew that calling him that would get under his skin, she'd never stop doing it. Drat.

The Togruta nudged him playfully, "Come on, it's time to go to Estimar, boyfriend."

"I can hardly wait," he deadpanned.


	6. Chapter 6: Public Transit

**LordDarthYoda** \- Yeah there's a different tone to this one, but things will start getting serious - but they'll be serious in a way that doesn't cause our characters to be in mortal danger for twenty chapters in a row. As for the braids...I assume that they are allowed to not wear them, especially in situations where it would obviously identify them as young Jedi, but there's nothing in canon to suggest that they do. For the purposes of the book, you can assume that they aren't wearing their braids.

 **Speechbubbleme** \- Story time, my date at prom (and first girlfriend) told me offhandedly one day that she'd be wearing a blue dress. I kind of smiled and nodded. It was only later that I was made aware that I was supposed to by a corsage that matched (thanks, mom.). I always feel like books ignore what characters are wearing, so I thought it was fun to explore a chapter where clothing is the main topic. And also explore the Sascha/Nara friendship further of course.

 **Bodare2-** I think I described The _Emerald Dream_ once in book one. Here's the description I found "The ship looked like a Spire Falcon waiting to swoop in and grab its prey, it was a predator and near the top of the food chain at that."

A/N - So I read the new Thrawn novel (and loved it!). The funny thing that I notice was that I kind of write a lot like Timothy Zahn (he's a thousand times better than me but our styles are fairly similar). I always loved Zahn's books, so I guess it's no surprise that I picked up some of his writing tricks as well.

This is the last of the 'really lighthearted' chapters, and we'll be on to the mission in the next one.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Public Transit**

Nara Nalto gently bobbed her head along with the sound of music. She and Sascha had already boarded the passenger liner that would take them from Calvais Station to Estimar. Nara didn't know the ship's name, and frankly, judging by the ship itself, it was not a name worth knowing. While she had known in her head that these passenger liners were not top of the line starships, actually experiencing being in a ship that looked like and _smelled_ like it should be in a museum was a…different experience. Maybe they should have paid for first class accommodations...

Bulbous and ungainly looking, the passenger liner's only goal was to fit as many people into it as possible and get them to their destination with as minimal creature comforts as possible. Nara was very happy that Estimar was the first stop on this voyage because after an hour and a half of being delayed at the dock, she was starting to lose her mind.

Of course Sascha hadn't seemed to have minded. He was sitting in the seat next to her (fortunately there were only two seats of the three occupied in their row). Sascha had, after buckling himself into his crashwebbing, closed his eyes and started to meditate. And that was what he'd been doing for the past three hours. It had left her without a companion to talk to. All she could do to entertain herself was use the terrible entertainment unit that was attached to her seat. All the shows that were available to watch were either old or boring. She had tried to watch a documentary on Estimar and its history but she had found it so tedious and mind-numbing that she had to turn it off, lest she fall asleep.

The one saving grace was that the entertainment unit did have a nice selection of music to listen to. While Togruta did not have external ears, with them actually having internal ears that were protected (and part of) their lekku, it meant that she had to connect tiny resistors to her lekku so that she could listen to music privately.

But after hours of listening to music (and daydreaming about boys), she was getting restless. She toyed with the idea of 'accidentally' elbowing Sascha and rousing him from his meditation, but decided that was too mean spirited. She did enjoy tweaking Sascha (mostly because it was so easy) but she didn't want to abuse her privilege, especially as they'd be sharing an apartment together until they ended this mission, which could go on for several weeks. She didn't want to co-habitate with an annoyed Sascha Whitestar, so annoying him was not an option. Unfortunately.

That meant she had to entertain herself. Nara grabbed the entertainment unit and set it in her lap, rifling through the options that she had already seen before. Maybe there was something that she had skipped over that could entertain her for a few hours…

And then she saw it. A little logo for paid Holonet access. She had browsed right past it the first time, because she had free, unlimited Holonet access on her datapad, like all Jedi (because it was rather important that Jedi have access to the biggest repository of civilian information in the galaxy). But if she paid for Holonet access on this entertainment…she could avoid her searches being flagged. Which meant she could look at the Jedipedia…

Since the day she had gotten her datapad as a youngling, it had always been made clear to her that her actions when using the datapad could be and were tracked. It usually was not a big deal. Outside of some curated knowledge regarding the Sith and the dark side, the datapads had allowed full access to the Holonet and the Jedi archives, and she hadn't heard of anyone being reprimanded for searching for anything, or even for going to some…questionably 'adult' sites. It used to be a prank one played at the Temple, temporarily taking someone's datapad without them knowing and entering an embarrassing search into the Holonet. She even remembered when it had happened to her. Someone (to this day she was not sure whom) had taken her datapad out of her pocket and quickly entered a Holonet search for 'Attractive Togruta Males.' She had been furious, and she had expected a senior Jedi to come and have a little chat about her search habits. But that conversation never happened. The worst part was that even though she saw the pictures of these skimpily dressed male Togruta, she hadn't been even remotely interested in them (this would of course have been different years later).

What Nara had learned about that episode was that the Jedi were open with their knowledge and though they wanted their younger members to know that and to be able to look up anything they wanted.

Except for the Jedipedia.

The Jedipedia was a civilian run database that was almost certainly the biggest depot of information related to the Jedi Order in the entire galaxy. The site, as supported by millions of contributors from thousands of worlds, kept an up-to-date roster of each Jedi in the entire Order. Each Jedi had a 'page' where there was a brief list of their accomplishments, times when they had been spotted in public, and known associates. It also had a section for 'fans' where people could upload fanart of their favourite Jedi and discuss with other fans why they liked that particular Jedi.

When Nara was about eleven, and was still an Initiate, she had discovered the Jedipedia by running a search of her own name (which was an amazingly self centered thing to do, she'd realize later). She had been astonished to find that there had been all this information about her on this page. Her date of birth, height, physical description, even a couple of pictures of her out in public (usually taken from events where young Initiates were paraded around) had all been a part of her page. There had even been information about her parents, though she had closed her eyes and avoided that section. At that point, that wound had been too raw, and would be so for many more years.

But the part that she had loved about her page was there had been these fantastic artist renderings of her. And they drew her not just at her current age, but how they thought that she might look in five or ten years. She had badly wanted to find these people who had taken time out of their day to do something for her and say that she appreciated what they had done. But then without warning her datapad had shut down and nothing she could do could resurrect it. So she had brought it to the tech desk in the Jedi Temple, assuming that its battery had just died or something similar. Instead she had ended up having a one-on-one chat with Shaak Ti.

The tall, solemn Togruta Jedi Master explained to Nara that the Jedipedia was not a place for young Jedi, or any Jedi to visit. Nara had been both embarrassed and annoyed, and demanded that Shaak Ti tell her why. Shaak Ti had told her that while the Jedi condoned the public making a resource that cataloged all Jedi, because the Jedi Order served the public and thus should be accepting of some degree of oversight, it would be dangerous to see all this fame and adulation.

She had kind of understood what Master Shaak Ti had meant, and asked for a further explanation. Shaak Ti had told her, that if you started to care about what people were saying about you on the Holonet then it would always be a distraction in your life. Which was a fair enough point, really.

Still, the Jedipedia remained as a sort of 'forbidden fruit,' and she was sort of interested in what her page on the Jedipedia looked like. She wasn't vain enough to make a habit out of going back to the site. But she did want to see it once.

Nara quickly paid for some time on the Holonet and made her way to the Jedipedia. Into the search, she entered her name and almost immediately her page popped up. The home page displayed her basic information, her height (accurate), her weight (she was NOT that heavy), and a physical description, along with a picture of her face. The picture was a good one, showing her with a wry smile on her face, though the picture itself was about two years old.

She scrolled down through the page. There was a biographical section that she quickly scrolled through without looking. She had lived her life, she didn't need to read a biographical summary of her life. She moved on to the multimedia section. In that there were some holos of her on various missions, ranging from her being photographed at official diplomatic events, to random pictures of her walking down the street.

Next in the multimedia section were videos. Again the videos generally happened to be from times when she knew that she was being recorded. Some were from Ubrora, where she had tacitly understood that she was being watched. And yet others, she had trouble placing. It was odd. Someone thought enough of her to actually get out recording equipment, record her (usually doing something mundane) and then upload it to the Holonet. Bizarre.

A bit put off, Nara scrolled down to the section she'd wanted to see since the beginning – works of art submitted by her 'fans.' The top result was a beautiful, hand drawn painting of her with her lightsaber lit and positioned across her body, a subtle smile on her face. The artist's name was unknown, but Nara would have really loved to have sent the artist a quick note on how she appreciated his or her art. But that did not appear to be an option, unfortunately.

She scrolled through more of the art. Some was good, some…well, some artists drew her like she was a caricature of herself. Nara was pretty happy with the way she looked, she was slender and although not amazingly attractive, still cute enough to get the attention of many males. Sure she would have loved to have been a stunningly attractive girl, one that would turn heads when she passed by, but she just simply wasn't. But the way she was drawn sometimes, with an outrageously, un-Togruta like curvaceous figure almost blew her mind.

"You know if you keep scrolling down, the pictures get more risqué," said Sascha.

Nara froze. Then she felt embarrassment rush through her entire body, he face and lekku warming up in what was probably record time. "Sascha! I uh, thought…"

"That I was peacefully meditating?"

"Um, yeah."

Nara finally managed to find the courage to look over at Sascha. She had expected that his face would be lit up in amusement at catching her looking up her own Jedipedia page, but while he was obviously somewhat amused, his expression was mostly serious. She quickly returned her attention to her datapad, "Let's just forget this ever happened."

"We could do that. Or I could show you something. You'll like it."

Nara's hand paused above the little keypad. Why was Sascha talking like he knew the ins and outs of the Jedipedia? _That_ was impossible. Sascha was the Jedi who always seemed to have a perfect moral compass, there was no way he'd ever used it.

"Trust me. You'll want to see it."

Nara hesitated, then handed Sascha the datapad. Sascha pressed a few buttons and then handed it back, "The audio is still set up for your little resistor things, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then hit play."

Nara hesitated again, not sure if this was some sort of elaborate joke that Sascha was pulling. But that wouldn't be his style. So she hit play. The datapad turned into projector mode. And projected an image of her, dressed in her usual Jedi robes. It wasn't a perfect likeness, but it was very close to it. Obviously someone had created this, rather than it being taken from some video. The virtual Nara did some quick form IV inspired movements and a loud, impressive voice boomed, "Nara Nalto, Huntress of Shili." The virtual Nara then paused with her lightsaber held forward, balancing on one leg, a small smile on her face. Then her datapad turned off projection mode and the virtual Nara disappeared.

Nara found that she was smiling. "Huntress of Shili?"

"The person that makes those gives every Jedi a nickname. Mine is 'Saint of Sluis Van.'"

"My nickname is better."

Sascha chuckled, "I'm pretty partial to mine, actually. But come on, shut it off, you aren't supposed to be visiting the Jedipedia."

Nara nodded in acceptance, "Okay." She signed out of the Jedipedia and ended her Holonet session. She turned back to face Sascha, "I didn't know that you ended your meditation."

"You kind of snapped me out of it," he admitted.

"What?"

"Well, I'm pretty sensitive to your emotions, given our relative closeness, both emotionally and well, actually being physically next to you. In my meditation I could feel how tense and nervous you were, so I figured it was a good time to end my meditation and see why you were feeling that way."

"Ah. And then you saw me sorting through the Jedipedia…"

"And I understood," Sascha said kindly. "It's like the forbidden fruit of the Jedi Order."

"But how did you know about the virtual video thing?"

"Ah. Yes." Sascha's cheeks showed some colour, "I was undercover on an assignment guarding a young woman a few months ago. And she swore that I looked exactly like Sascha Whitestar, Jedi Padawan, which of course I do…"

"So she blew your cover?"

He smiled slightly, "She should have, but I was able to convince her, despite her having actual physical evidence in front of her, that I was not actually Sascha Whitestar."

"So you mind tricked her."

Sascha winced, "No. She was a nice young woman, but not the most…observant."

"And did this young woman try to kiss you?" Nara asked teasingly. "That tends to happen often, I've observed."

Sascha smirked, "No, she was just super in to her studies and research. Everything outside the scientific world bored her, I think."

"Hmm. Well thanks for showing me that. But now I think its your turn to stay awake while I meditate."

Sascha usually would have made some sort of glib comment about her hating to meditate which had been true a few years ago, but he chose not to. "I also heard you listening to 'Jedi Boy'"

Nara blinked, that had been one of the songs she had listened to. The song itself was popular amongst many Inner Rim and Mid Rim planets, telling the story of a girl with an unrequited crush on a titular 'Jedi Boy.' Nara thought it was a nice, catchy song. And because she'd had crushes on many Jedi boys over the years, she related to it – though probably not quite in the way that the songwriter had intended.

"How did you know I listened to that song?" she asked.

"You were humming the melody when I ended my meditation," Sascha said with a smirk.

"And how do _you_ know the melody to Jedi Boy?"

Her friend grinned mischievously, "I am the inspiration for the song. I also helped write it."

"Uh huh, and I'm the Queen of Shili."

Sascha's grin widened, "Do you want me to prove it?"

She crossed her arms across her chest, "I'd love to see you try."

"I accept your challenge. Do you know who wrote and sings 'Jedi Boy?'"

"Ezah Reisel. She's a Twi'lek." And very pretty thought Nara. Nara was jealous of very few females over just their looks, but the natural, effortless beauty of people like Ezah Reisel and, to a lesser extent, Aalya Secura had always struck her as unfair. But Nara had learned that life had no obligation to treat you fairly.

"We saw her perform once. Don't you remember?"

Nara felt her face settle into a frown, she could remember attending very few concerts in her life and absolutely none of them she would consider to be a popular music concert. Then things started clicking together in her mind, "She was the Twi'lek in that Jedi musical we watched!?"

Sascha's grin widened, "She was."

Nara shook her head in confusion, "Okay, I don't get it. How do you go from watching her perform to actually meeting her and co-writing a song." She was pretty sure that Sascha was just pulling her leg. This story was just too outlandish. Especially the part about Sascha being the 'Jedi boy' that was the object of desire. Sascha was nice, but not exactly a boy worthy of swooning over.

"Well, its kind of a long story, but I was kind of a brat and my Master 'punished' me by making me guard the cast of the musical as they went to a night club."

"She punished you by making you hang out with famous musicians?"

Sascha laughed softly, "Well, it wasn't so much a punishment as it was teaching me a lesson. I only saw it as a punishment. But I met with Ezah during that night and we became friends."

Nara thought it through. It sounded outlandish but could have been true. She was also failing to detect any sense of dishonesty from Sascha, who was, generally speaking, a terrible liar. "So what happened next? I assume she fell in love with her 'Jedi Boy'" she said sarcastically.

Her friend's cheeks reddened, "That's closer to the truth than you'd think. I turned her down of course."

"You WHAT! Sascha I don't know if you are partially blind, but Ezah Reisel is _beautiful_."

"I'm aware."

Nara shook her head in disbelief. "I suppose the song makes sense now. She wrote it about you."

"With my help," said Sascha. "She wanted some feedback on the lyrics so I helped out."

"Did you at least get writing credit? Some percentage of the royalties? Are you holding out on telling me that you have a secret fortune, Sascha Whitestar? Can we please spend it on this mission?"

Sascha shot her an arch look, "Ezah did offer me some percentage of the profits. I suggested that she send them to somewhere that the credits would be put to good use. I suggested the Rebuilding Ubrora Fund. So every time someone plays that song, they rebuild Ubrora just a little bit more. She also made a personal donation to the Fund. She's a good person, Ezah. We stay in touch."

"It sounds like she still has a crush on you, Sascha. Writing songs about you. Donating money to causes you support." She shook her head, "Only you could get a beautiful girl to fall for you without trying. You should really try to pass on your talent to others."

Sascha guffawed, "Ezah isn't really interested in me. She flirts with me because she knows that I can't and won't act on it. I'm probably the only male her age that isn't interested in being with her because of her looks. And yet, because she can't have me…"

"That only makes you more desirable," she finished. "Boy, Sascha, you have perfected the ultimate 'hard-to-get' gambit. Kudos for that. It is truly impressive."

"You're mocking me."

"Wow, you catch on fast, Sascha."

Sascha shot her a wounded look, "Come on, Nara. Ezah doesn't actually want to be with me. I'm the only male she'll ever be able to flirt with without fear of me, you know, acting on it. And I'm not interested in her."

"You're not interested in her," Nara repeated in disbelief. "Did your kiss with Tyra break you Sascha or what?" That comment stung Sascha, and he physically recoiled from her. Instantly she regretted her word choice, "I didn't mean to say…"

"You did, Nara," Sascha said, the slight echo of hurt still in his voice.

"I didn't mean it in that way. I'm sorry, Sascha."

Sascha slumped in his seat, "Whatever, Nara."

Nara suppressed a sigh, she had just been trying to tease Sascha, but he was sensitive about Tyra and his feelings towards her still. And to be fair, she had said something amazingly stupid. He'd forgive her, she knew, but it was clear that this conversation was over. "Your big mouth strikes again, stupid Togruta," she muttered to herself.

She nudged Sascha lightly, "I'm going to meditate, okay?"

"Sure." Another curt response.

Nara shook her head and brought up her datapad. She was fond of meditating while listening to music, so she cued up some meditation music on her datapad. Then a thought struck her and she added 'Jedi Boy' to the top of her playlist. She settled into a comfortable position and heard the song start up.

 _Looked just like any other,_

 _A boy dressed like a simple trader_

 _Told me that he was a Jedi_

 _And he was here to protect me_

 _Laughed him off, didn't believe him_

 _Who could believe this little human_

 _Was a warrior without equal_

 _And he was here to protect me_

 _Was there for me when I needed him,_

 _My Knight, my protector_

 _Wiped the tears from my eyes_

 _How funny, I wasn't supposed to cry_

 _Comforted me, consoled me,_

 _Was a shoulder to cry on_

 _But he taught me to be strong,_

 _Taught me how face the dark inside me  
_

 _I made a move, tried to woo him_

 _But he wouldn't break his code for me_

 _Still made me feel like I was wanted,_

 _Even though, he left me alone_

 _I probably won't ever see him again_

 _Dressed in gray with his weapon_

 _But I knew from the day I met him_

 _I knew he would always be my Jedi Boy_


	7. Chapter 7: Orientation

**LordDarthYoda** \- I love the idea of Sidious going through the Jedipedia and just adding the cause of death for all of the different Jedi. I think the great thing about the Star Wars Universe is that there still is a lot of area to explore, whether it is the Force or the Jedi, or so on and so forth - so it is in these unexplored areas that I like basing my stories.

 **Speechbubbleme** \- Yeah it was nice to include some humor in this chapter (the hijinx may or may not have been inspired by some real life events). Sadly the Jedipedia does not exist, but if you figure that we have the Wookiepedia for Star Wars (and the Star Wars Universe doesn't 'exist') then someone would make something similar for the Jedi in the Star Wars Universe. Yeah the Tyra thing was a low blow, but Nara's sometimes a bit careless with her words. Glad you enjoyed the song, because I really toyed with not revealing the lyrics at all.

 **Bodare2-** Ha, sorry I broke your immersion! As someone who has played around with Arduinos, and resistors, I should have been more careful to use the correct term. Glad you enjoyed the rest of the chapter though.

 **TheAdamBomb505 -** Well you just got 3 Sascha novels for free so don't complain :). I'd love to be able to write any sort of _Star Wars_ novel, but something tells me I'll have to settle for doing this :). Thanks for the kind words.

A/N -Nothing from me this time.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Orientation**

The rest of the two Padawans trip to Estimar was uneventful. Sascha and Nara picked up their bags in the spaceport on Estimar and hailed an air taxi to take them to their temporary home for the duration of the mission. As the driver made their way to their destination, Sascha tried to take stock of the city of Apren, which they were in.

Trying to get a sense of a city while whizzing through it late at night on an air taxi was something of a fruitless task, but it allowed him to get a general sense of things. The architecture of the city tended to be artistic and flowing, certainly unlike the more brutalist architecture of places like Coruscant. That was very much unlike say, Ubrora where even the buildings were colourful. By contrast, Apren's buildings tended to be dull grays and browns, though they were often lit up with fancy holographic signs on the outside. In the distance, he could see an impressive looking mountain range, one that the Estimarians had left unspoiled from technology.

Their driver dropped them off outside an unremarkable looking apartment building that was close to their new school. The apartment itself was dull and gray, though it was probably eighty-five stories tall and reasonably well maintained. The apartment was generally student friendly and was occupied by many students of the nearby Universities. Thus it was a perfect place for he and Nara to stay, a place where they would be nothing more than two average looking students.

After quickly getting their keys from the attendant at the front, the two Jedi made their way to their apartment on the 21st floor. They stopped outside the door and he gestured to Nara, "Ladies first."

Nara shot him a look and shook her head before using her keycard to open the door. Nara pushed open the door and Sascha was immediately greeted by the strong smell of disinfectant.

"What a wonderful smell you've discovered, Nara."

Nara's nose was wrinkling as she tried to deal with the overpowering scent. Then she sneezed. Three times in a row. "I think I'm allergic," Nara said.

"Allergic to disinfectant, that'd be a new one," he replied.

Nara sneezed loudly, and then shook her head, "I think I'll be fine. "

Sascha unslung the pack he had been carrying around his shoulders put it down. Their apartment was quite a basic one. One bedroom, a living room, refresher, and a small kitchen. He pointed to the couch in the living room, "Guess that's my bed."

Nara padded slowly into the bedroom and turned on the lights, "I mean, the bed is quite large, we could both sleep in it," she called from the adjoining room.

"Yeah…no. I'll take the couch."

Nara emerged from the other room, "That couch wasn't designed for sleeping, Sascha. And it's pretty small."

"So? I'm sure its fine."

The Togruta seemed exasperated, "Don't be so pigheaded! We once slept with me cuddled around you. I'm pretty sure that we didn't magically fall in love with each other afterwards! I sleep fully clothed, you sleep fully clothed. The bed has two pillows. What's the big deal?"

He held his hands out towards her, "Just no, Nara."

Nara stomped her foot on the floor, "You're such an idiot sometimes, Sascha."

"Thanks Nara, that makes me feel a lot better."

Nara growled, pivoted on her foot and returned to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Sascha ground his teeth and stared at the closed door. Why did Nara always test him about this? It wasn't like his opinion in the matter was going to change. He and Nara were friends, and neither party seemed interested in being more than that, yet Nara kept bringing up things that were pushing the boundaries of friendship. Besides, he was sure the couch would be fine to sleep on.

He took a deep, calming breath and walked over to the door. He knocked, "Nara? Can I come in?"

"No, I'm _completely_ naked, stay away," Nara said sarcastically.

He activated the door, which whooshed quietly into the ceiling. Nara was fully clothed, unpacking her things in the small closet that the bedroom featured. "We have different definitions of naked, I see."

Nara huffed slightly and finished putting all her things into the closet. Then she turned and faced him, a surprisingly contrite expression on her face, "Look, I shouldn't push you on this, I know. But this was something totally platonic that we could do. And I think it would reaffirm our friendship instead of damage it. We could say that we slept in the same bed together and nothing changed. I mean, Sascha, we snuggled together for a whole night on Eredenn Prime. This would be the same thing…minus the snuggling."

"I…can maybe get my mind around the idea. But not tonight. Maybe later," he hedged.

"I won't force you into anything," she said. Nara gestured towards the door, "We should probably go shopping so we have some food to eat in the morning."

"Always with your mind on your stomach, Nara."

"Guilty as charged," she said as she bounced past him and into the main room. "Let's go Sascha."

* * *

The next morning was the orientation day for newly enrolled students at Apren Polytechnic, so Sascha and Nara put on their new outfits and walked to what was, amusingly, their first day at school. The sun was out shining brightly on this fine morning and it made for nice weather for their walk to the campus.

The one thing that was hard not to notice was how many people around them were obviously couples. He should have expected it, since he knew that this was what Estimar was known for a sort of 'couples culture.' Still, it made him feel self conscious that he wasn't holding hands with someone special.

"Do you think we should hold hands to fit in?" asked Nara, who certainly seemed to have noticed what he had.

"Nah."

Nara cocked an eyebrow at him, "Is this just you not liking physical contact again?"

"I mean we can hold hands if you want. But I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding how being a couple works on Estimar."

"Lay your wisdom down on me Sascha," Nara said sarcastically.

"I shall. So on Estimar, you can apply to have a partner and they'll use their computer algorithm to find what it feels is a good match. But while you might think that means everyone is in a romantic relationship, many people are more happy in more non-traditional relationships. Relationships that are more like strong friendships. The Estimarians don't judge, they just want everyone to have someone that they can talk to and rely upon."

"So why do we see so many people holding hands?" Nara inquired.

"Because younger people tend to desire romantic relationships. It's when their biological imperative is generally strongest."

"Hmm…" Nara trailed off and then picked up her thoughts a few moments later, "I just don't really get it."

"I'm not sure I totally get it either," he admitted. "I get the general idea – no one wants to be alone, so provide them with the ability to find someone to share life's experiences with. It's just odd that there is a whole bureaucracy dedicated to it."

"I agree. But we shouldn't focus too much on that. We should focus on our mission," said Nara.

Sascha punched Nara lightly on the arm, "Look at you staying all professional."

Nara shot him a look, "I'm always professional when I need to be."

"I know. Any ideas as what to look for?"

"Hope that one of the groups on campus is named the 'Anti-Jedi league?'"

He snorted, "I don't think it will be that easy."

"Then let's play it by ear for today. If we get absolutely nowhere we can start making more detailed plans for tomorrow."

The two undercover Jedi approached the campus of Apren Polytechnic. Unlike many times when the pictures he had seen beforehand failed to live up to reality, the University campus was almost exactly like the pictures he had seen, which was impressive because the pictures of the campus had been rather beautiful. The buildings were all well designed, with a mix of modern buildings built with many transparisteel windows along with older, venerable looking stone buildings, covered with assorted foliage. It was a nice contrast of the old and the new. Buildings on the campus were kept to a reasonable height, the tallest building might have been twenty stories or so tall. The overall effect was that the campus seemed both venerably old fashioned and suitably modern at the same time.

At the entrance there were a throng of young men and women that were cheerfully greeting people as they entered. Sascha and Nara made a beeline towards one of the unoccupied greeters, a cheerful young Devaronian female. Sascha noted that she was wearing a shirt in the school's colours (royal blue and gold) with the crest of Apren Polytechnic emblazoned across the front.

Sascha gave her a little wave, "Hi, we're here for the orientation?"

If at all physically possible, the buoyant Devaronian's smile widened further, "Of course! You're in the right place! Welcome to Apren Polytechnic!"

"Thanks…"

"We have tours leaving from this spot every five minutes, but one just left, so you'll have to wait. Otherwise if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them," the Devaronian replied perkily. How much of her emotion was faked Sascha didn't really want to know.

"I think we'll try wandering around on our own for a bit," said Nara.

The Devaronian dimmed slightly, "Well just let me provide you with all the information that you'll need for today. Please hold out your datapads for a file transfer."

Sascha and Nara did so and the Devaronian almost squealed in delight, "You've got such cool datapads! Where'd you buy them?"

"Calvais Station," said Nara, thinking quickly on her feet. Somehow Sascha suspected that the real answer, The Jedi Temple on Coruscant, would lead to further, unwanted, questions

" _Super_ awesome," the Devaronian said, holding out here datapad, which seemed to be a top of the line model from one of the newer manufacturers. "If you ever want to make some quick credits, I'm sure there'll be many aficionados that would love to have something as unique as that."

"I'll keep it in mind," he replied, still waiting for the file to be transferred.

After a moment, the perky Devaronian finally realized the same thing and pressed few buttons on her device. "Okay, looks like you have everything for now. Enjoy your day!"

Sascha and Nara thanked the Devaronian and then slipped into the campus proper. Once they were out of earshot, Nara leaned in and whispered to him, "So, what kind of drugs do you think she's on?"

"Some people are naturally happy and enthusiastic, Nara."

"Not _that_ happy or enthusiastic."

"Since when did you become a cynic Nara?" he asked as the two strolled at a leisurely pace taking in their surroundings.

"I'm not a cynic," she protested. "I just hate it when people put on such an obviously fake front to the world. Like, what's the point?"

"Fitting in, I guess. She's expected to be an ambassador for the school, so she tries the only way she knows how."

Nara grumbled some more but didn't vocalize anything so Sascha assumed that this discussion was over.

The two Jedi wandered around the campus, using their datapad to navigate their way around and find sites of interest, like where their classes would be (classes would be starting tomorrow. As they wandered, they tried to pay attention to what the other students were talking about, in hopes that someone would let slip some anti-Jedi comments in public. Unfortunately for Sascha and Nara, the new students were much more interested in finding out all they could about their new school then slandering the Jedi Order.

The Jedi stopped for lunch at one of the cafeterias on campus. The quality of the food was...not the best. "I miss the Temple," muttered Nara at she picked at her food unconvincingly.

Sascha was finding that his soup was very watery, especially considering the exorbitant price that he had paid for it. "I don't say this often, but you make better food than this."

"I cook okay," Nara said defensively.

"You cook meat well. Everything else..."

Nara managed a smile, "Sorry, I can only cook what I know. Vegetables mostly all taste the same to me, so I probably don't put much effort into preparing them properly."

"Well you haven't killed anyone with your cooking...yet."

"Very funny, Sascha."

"I thought so."

Nara shot him a 'Don't push it' look which effectively silenced him. He knew when to tease Nara and when not to tease her. The two Padawans completed their lunches in silence thereafter. As they returned their plates, Sascha asked Nara, "Where do you want to go now?"

"Well, you saw the open field in the middle of campus where all the campus clubs were advertising?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a feeling that we should go there."

Sascha turned and headed for the exit of the cafeteria, "Is this a premonition from the Force, or is it a 'I saw I cute guy over there and I want to flirt with him' excuse?"

"Oh come on, that only happened once."

"And what happened?" he asked teasingly.

"He wanted to flirt with you not me," Nara said dejectedly. "I swear he was making eyes at me!"

"So much for your vaunted Togruta eyesight."

Nara smiled slightly, "The power of wishful thinking in action, I guess. But seriously, I think we should check it out, even if I didn't have a premonition. Think about it, these anti-Jedi people need a way to organize, communicate and recruit new members. What better way to do that than through an official club?"

Sascha shrugged, it was about as good of an idea as any other. "You take the lead, Nara."

The two Jedi walked back to the open field that they had passed earlier, one that was filled with various groups that were trying to get new students to join their club. Some were quietly advertising, using signs to show what their club was about and hoping interested parties would come up and talk to them. Some were using a more direct approach, trying to sell their club like they were salesman at a bazaar. And some were trying to attract people by demonstrating what their club was about.

So it all made for a rather interesting experience.

"Hey Togruta," someone called, "Join the Togruta Student Alliance!"

Nara's head whipped around to find the source of the voice, "Um, I was just browsing…"

"You have five minutes, come see what we are all about," said the female, red skinned Togruta that had sprung in front of them to block their path.

"What do you guys even…do?" asked Nara, who clearly was too polite to shove her way bodily past the interloper, though Sascha could tell that was exactly what she wanted to do.

The other Togruta brightened, "Well, we coordinate activities with other Togruta student groups across Estimar. We have events where we serve food from Shili. We also get together once a week and discuss current events revolving around Togruta across the galaxy. Oh, and we also try to show a classic holomovie from Shili at least once every few weeks. It's quite a lot of fun."

As Nara tried to weasel her way out of the conversation, Sascha quietly slipped away. There was very little chance that the 'Togruta Student Alliance' was some sort of front for anti-Jedi activities. As a species, Togruta were extremely loyal, and Shili was one of the Republic's strongest backers. Combined with the fact that there was a fair number of Togruta Jedi, it seemed unlikely that they'd find anti-Jedi sentiment within the group.

Sascha wandered around aimlessly for a minute until Nara reappeared by his side. "Couldn't get them to take no for an answer?" he asked his friend.

"I tried to say that I wasn't interested about fifteen different ways," Nara complained. "Some people just can't take a hint."

He ignored that last comment and gestured, "Let's keep looking."

The two Padawans wandered around the open field, enduring recruitment pitches from quite a number of campus clubs. Despite the vast number of clubs being advertised, nothing seemed to quite fit as a front for those harboring anti-Jedi sentiments. Even a brief investigation of the 'Conspiracy club' revealed little more than your standard 'The Chancellor is bought and paid for by xyz corporation' and 'The invasion of Naboo was a distraction by the Senate to take attention away from their own corruption.' Boring stuff.

Even when he and Nara approached the 'Free-thinkers League' which was the sort of club that Sascha thought might have exhibited some more revolutionary ideas, they simply seemed to want to convince them of the foolishness of religion. When Sascha tried to steer the conversation towards the Force (considered by many to be a religion) the response he got was, "Of course the Force exists. It's not a religion. It exists."

If there was a campus club that was a front for an anti-Jedi organization, Sascha was becoming increasingly sure that they wouldn't find it today. Which was unfortunate, but not unexpected. This was going to require some real sleuthing to find these people. And probably liaising with the local police as well.

The two Jedi had almost made their way past every club when he felt Nara tug on her arm. "Let's check out this one."

Sascha looked at the sign that had been posted at the front of a small, upraised stage, which read 'Apren Polytechnic Debate Society.'

"The debate society?" he said.

"Sure, what's the worst that could happen?"

One stage a human with a rather gnarly looking beard stepped to a microphone, "Get a taste of debate! Debate one of our school's top orators! See what it's like to experience verbal jousting."

Sascha rolled his eyes and was preparing to make a witty comment when he noticed that Nara had disappeared from view. "Nara, what are you doing," he muttered under his breath. Nara and he were a good team, but he really hated it when she decided that she was just going to do something without informing him what she was doing. He would try to work on that with her. Maybe he could even get her to listen to him. Doubtful.

He took a brief look at the small crowd that was seated on the ground nearby the stage, evidently they were watching the debates that were taking place. Some of them may have been members of the debate club for all he knew. Unlike some clubs, the debate club did not wear matching attire.

On one side of the stage, leaning against a podium was a bored looking Zabrak who was idly scrolling through his datapad, while the host tried to solicit passersby to get up on stage. He found a willing volunteer in Nara Nalto. Sascha watched as Nara bounded enthusiastically onto the raised platform and approached the open microphone on the other side of the stage, "I'm ready to debate!"

The host looked over to the unenthused looking Zabrak, who nodded distractedly to go ahead. The host looked at Nara, and then gestured towards the Zabrak on his other side "You will be debating on of our top debators, Zven Hitplik. He's well known across the sector for his debating prowess. But don't be intimidated, he doesn't bite. Go ahead, pick your topic."

Nara smiled, "Be it resolved, the Republic would be better off without the Jedi Order."

There was a small gasp from the audience that was present, and from Sascha himself. But Sascha immediately saw what Nara was trying to do. It was a very direct, very Nara Nalto-esque approach, but it had its merits. Sascha supposed it was now his job to see how everyone around reacted. It would have been nice if he'd had some warning beforehand...

The host forced a quick smile, "An interesting choice of topic. Miss Nalto, since you picked the topic, you will speak first. A one minute opening statement, please."

"Thank you," said Nara, speaking clearly and confidently. "The Jedi Order and the Republic have been intertwined for thousands of years. But any clearheaded analysis of the two institutions would show that they have been brought together by happenstance and only stay together because of historical inertia. The Jedi mystics at this point hold the Republic back from evolving. Simply put, because the Republic has come to rely upon the Jedi, the Republic has become stagnant in trying to solve its own problems. Whenever there is a crisis, the Republic simply dispatches a Jedi or five to fix it. In that way the Senate doesn't have to fix the underlying problems, because it knows that whatever happens, the Jedi Order will fix it."

Nara took a breath, and Sascha suppressed a smile. Nara, though she didn't choose to show it in casual situations, was a capable public speaker and solid debater. Sascha knew that Tiplee had worked with Nara quite often to refine her diplomatic skills and he was sure that Tiplee would have very much enjoyed the performance Nara was putting on. He didn't necessarily buy her argument, but at least it was well stated.

"Also, you have to take into account the fact that the Jedi Order is above the law of the Republic."

That declaration woke up the audience again. Sascha paid attention to the crowd, trying to see if anyone was seeing Nara as a potential new ally. The crowd watching the debate seemed as shocked by Nara's pronouncement as he expected.

Nara nodded at the crowd, "That's right. The Jedi Order defy the laws of the Republic on a minute-by-minute basis. Let us start with the obvious. The Jedi kidnap their initiates. Oh, of course it's all 'legal,' but parents across the Republic are pressured into giving their children to the Jedi. Then when they grow up, they might as well have diplomatic immunity! I tell you, when is the last time you saw a Jedi put on trial?"

Nara realized that she needed to close her opening statement quickly if she wanted to stay within the time limit, "In short, it is time for the Republic and the Jedi to part ways. Only by cutting lose the relic that is the Jedi Order, can the Republic evolve and strengthen itself."

Scattered, unenthusiastic applause came after Nara's opener.

The host was clearly trying to shepherd this whole thing along as quickly as possible, "Okay, Mister Hitplik, one minute, your opening statement."

The Zabrak, his body posture still suggesting boredom and annoyance, finally straightened and sauntered to his microphone. "Our bold newcomer has tried to propose a question so absurd that it could only be a hypothetical. Nonetheless, I will play her game." He paused significantly, "The Republic is going through a period of turmoil, that much is very much clear. However, to lay the blame on the Jedi Order is nothing short of scapegoating..."

Sascha tuned the Zabrak out. Not because he wasn't interested in the debate, because he was, but because he wanted to drop into the Force so he could sense the emotions of those around him. And that involved letting go of some of his sense of the physical world. Sascha slowed down his breathing, closed his eyes and entered the river of power and wisdom that was the Force.

Using the Force, he probed around, trying to get a feel of the emotions of the students and debaters around him. Nara was the brightest presence, just by virtue of being a Force-sensitive and his close connection with his friend. Sascha gently probed the emotions of some of the other students around him. Most were varying levels of bored and excited, and neither emotion seemed particularly out of place.

Sascha then focused his attention on the Zabrak, Zeven Hitplik, that was debating Nara. It was there he found something interesting. Not anywhere near as bored as his body posture suggested, the Zabrak was actually deeply annoyed. But was he annoyed at Nara? That didn't make sense. Sure, Nara had picked a provocative subject, but that didn't seem like something to be annoyed about. Maybe he was annoyed to be here at all?

Sascha returned his attention to the debate, where it was apparently Nara's turn to speak again, "I will keep this brief. When an organism cannot longer evolve it inevitably goes extinct. It doesn't take one day, or one year, but it is inevitable. The Republic no longer evolves thanks to the cancer that is the Jedi Order, and as such, it will die. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday."

Sascha hid a smirk. Nara was basically just regurgitating the talking points of the anti-Jedi faction at Apren Polytechnic that they had both studied in some detail on the way to Estimar. Figuring that Nara would be doing more of the same, he dropped into the Force and probed at Zven again. Now, the Zabrak seemed to be even further annoyed then he had been previously.

Sascha was now convinced that there was something deeper going on than what appeared on the surface. He dropped out of the Force to think about what he knew. What reason did Zven have to be annoyed? He tested out of a few theories before he found one that he thought made sense:

Zven Hitplik was annoyed because he was having to debate _this_ side of the argument, Sascha realized. Zven didn't want to debate _for_ the Jedi Order, he wanted to debate _against_ the Jedi Order and its importance to the Republic. Sascha tested the theory against the evidence at hand and decided it was worthy of further study. And that it was possible that Zven Hitplik was one of the anti-Jedi dissidents as well.

As Sascha returned to full awareness of himself, the debate was ending and the host was tallying up the votes from the audience. "Okay! With 70% of the vote, our winner of this debate is Zven Hitplik!" The Zabrak dismissively waved to the crowd. Nara approached Zven, offering her hand out to him. Zven accepted the handshake, and the two appeared to share a brief, private conversation before Nara exited the stage and the next prospective debater hopped up on stage.

After a few moments, Nara found him again as he walked through the crowd. "You always did like the direct approach," he said to her

The Togruta grinned, "I thought it had merit. At the very least it would establish me as someone that these anti-Jedi people might be willing to recruit."

"I agree, I never would have thought of doing something like that," he admitted. It was partially why he and Nara were such a good team. Presented with the same task and resources, the two of them often would come up with totally different approaches.

Nara shrugged laconically, "I'm glad it seemed to work out."

"What did he say to you when you did that handshake?"

"He said that if that's what I really believe we should meet to discuss it further. I gave him my number."

"Was he trying to flirt with you or to recruit you?"

Nara cocked her head to the side and smiled, "A little of both, maybe."

He smiled, "Good work Nara. We now have something of a lead."

"I'm the best, what can I say?"

Sascha snorted derisively and Nara punched him on the arm like he knew that she would.

"No, but seriously, good job Nara."

"Thanks, boyfriend," replied Nara with an impish grin.

Sascha looked skyward, "Can we please not do this?" he replied half-seriously.

Nara laughed loudly as she headed back towards the main part of campus, "I suppose. Come on, Sascha."

He sighed. "Right behind you, Nara."


	8. Chapter 8: School Daze

**LordDarthYoda** \- I like to think of Yoda quietly sipping tea in his chambers, watching the news when there is a report of anti-Jedi outrage playing...and a big picture of Nara Nalto as one of the ring leaders - I think it would be amusing to watch Yoda do a spit take...

 **Speechbubbleme** \- I think the difference between Sascha and Nara would be that Nara would always try the bold, direct strategy, whereas Sascha would always try to find the 'clever' strategy. It's a very Anakin vs. Obi-wan sort of thing - both approaches work, but both Jedi play to their strengths. The University orientation was very much based on my own experiences at University and while this is a galaxy far, far away, I think that some things would very much stay the same...

 **BooshaBay -** I feel like a lot of the anti-Jedi sentiment must exist (even before the clone wars), because most people react to the disbanding of the Jedi Order with little more than a shrug. I mean, if the Jedi were beloved, I'm pretty sure people would have been pretty upset if they were mysteriously eliminated.

A/N -Nothing from me this time.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 8: School Daze**

Sascha and Nara spent the remainder of the day finding what information they could about Zven Hitplik as well as discussing what they wanted to do tomorrow and what plans they might make. Preliminary research on Zven revealed very little about the Zabrak, but Nara and Sascha both felt that they would do well to keep an eye on him and potentially follow him. Nara had also set up a 'not quite a date' with Zven for tomorrow night, which could potentially lead to some further clues. Or it could lead to nothing.

That night he slept on the couch with Nara not even broaching the question of sleeping in the same bed, only offering to swap places with him and have her sleep on the couch tomorrow. Judging by how uncomfortable his sleep had been, he was going to take Nara up on that offer.

He and Nara had woken up early so that they could go for a morning jog together, which was both good exercise, as well as being a nice way to map out the immediate area. He had developed quite a positive perception of Estimar in the short time he'd been on planet. Despite its relatively large size, the planet as a whole felt like it was a quiet, relaxing place, far different from the hustle and bustle of Coruscant. People here led quiet, happy lives. That was why it was so odd that this was becoming an epicenter for anti-Jedi sentiment? Estimar was prosperous. Why did it seem to care about the Jedi Order?

After they returned to their apartment, Sascha had a sanisteam, dressed himself in his new casual clothes and headed off to his first class of the day, which conveniently, was a class on Jedi History. If there was going to be a class that would draw the ire of the anti-Jedi students, it was likely to be this one. The professor, Hupert Taruk was a well-known scholar of Jedi history that had even been allowed within the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to peruse the archives (under quiet supervision, of course, but even being let inside the archives of the Jedi was a right bestowed on few.) Professor Taruk had lectured for many years on Coruscant, but had semi-retired to teach on his homeword of Estimar.

Sascha found the lecture hall with some difficulty and settled into his seat roughly in the middle of the auditorium. He took out his datapad and hooked it into the charging station in his seat. While many Universities across the galaxy offered lectures that could be viewed from the comfort of home (wherever in the galaxy that happened to be), Apren Polytechnic clung to the old way of making students come in and physically be present in the lecture hall. Sascha thought that made sense. By being in an environment of learning it put one in the right mindset to learn. Besides, if one was paying thousands of credits for an education, he thought it made sense to have the professor physically present in the same room with you.

Having gotten to the classroom with plenty of time to spare before the lecture was supposed to begin, Sascha mapped out his surroundings, looking for where the exits were and determining the best escape route. While an earlier version of himself would have thought of this sort of analysis was kind of unsettling, a reminder that he could never really evade his Jedi training, the current version of himself simply had grown to accept it.

The class filled in slowly, in drips and drabs. There seemed to be a smattering of basically every species in the galaxy entering the classroom, a truly multi-species affair. Like many worlds in the Republic that had been settled in the expansion era, Estimar had a fairly large non-human population. A bored looking Sullustian eventually sat to Sascha's left, while a cute Miralian girl sat on his right.

Before Sascha could think of what to say, the Miralian dropped her datapad. It fell to the ground, making a loud, clattering sound. "Oh no..." she said, picking the device off the ground, " _please_ don't be broken!" The Miralian pressed a few buttons and then slumped in her chair as if all her bones had simultaneously left her body all at once. "No..." she moaned, defeated.

Guessing that the datapad was indeed broken, Sascha put on his most beatific smile and said, "Hi. Can I maybe look at it? I'm pretty good at fixing things."

Clearly on the verge of tears, the Miralian put the device in his hands, "Please fix it...I don't have the credits for a new one."

Sascha looked at the datapad. The screen had a minor crack in it, but nothing that couldn't be fixed by getting the screen replaced. But it didn't matter what buttons he pushed, the datapad seemed to be dead. He toyed with the idea of giving her his datapad, only to realize that handing over his datapad full of information from the Jedi Temple was a bad idea and a quick way to blow his cover.

He pressed a few more buttons and handed the device back, "I'm sorry..."

The Miralian sobbed and put her head in her hands.

"...but I fixed it."

The Miralian almost jumped out of her chair, "You what?"

"When you dropped it, you hit the 'off' button. It works fine, minus the crack in the screen."

Despite having Jedi reflexes, Sascha could not avoid being enveloped in a hug from the Miralian (not that he was complaining.) "Thank you! I think I'm losing my mind and its the week day of classes."

Sascha gently extracted himself from the hug, "That's okay. It's my first week of class at Apren Polytechnic too."

"I suppose I should introduce myself then. I'm Riya Lein."

"Sascha Whitestar."

He managed to take a more detailed look at Riya. The Miralian had a pretty face, and soft blue eyes. She had a line of triangular tatoos that ran sideways on both cheeks which he found to be very striking. Riya wore a modest, plain, long, black, dress that wasn't particularly flattering. Still, that made the warm features on her face stand out even more.

"Where are you from, Sascha?"

He decided to go with the easy answer, "Coruscant. How about you?"

"Miral. I'm here on a scholarship. I thought it would cover all my expenses, but it feels like I'm already broke by the start of the first class."

"Hmm. Same," he said noncommittally.

"So why Jedi history, Sascha?" Riya asked.

"It fit into my schedule," he said, lying easily. "Plus, I figured that the Jedi have been involved in so many of the most important events in the history of the Republic, so I thought it would be interesting. What about you?"

"I'm studying biomechanical engineering here, they have a great program here. But I always wanted to learn more about the Jedi, and I had one free elective so here we are. I guess I've always been curious about the Jedi since one of my cousins is one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, her name is Luminara Unduli. She's pretty famous for working with the Senate, mostly with the previous chancellor."

Sascha tried to keep a straight face, but his shock must have shown clearly. This random student was related (tangentially, but legitimately related) to Luminara? That was some crazy coincidence. If it was true, of course.

"You think I'm lying," said Riya.

"I...umm..."

"It would be a silly thing to lie about, wouldn't it? It doesn't mean that I'm special in any way. Just related to someone who is."

"But people lie for silly reasons all the time," he said.

"They do, don't they," said Riya.

Sascha was spared from having to figure out what to say next by the entrance of their teacher, Professor Taruk walked in. The Professor was a tall Cerean that reminded Sascha of Ki-Adi Mundi. Dressed in a simple robe that was vaguely like what a Jedi might wear (but made out of far more comfortable materials), the Professor carried himself with a air of quiet dignity, that was reminiscent of the way some of the older Jedi Masters carried themselves.

The Professor took his spot at the lectern at the front of the classroom and spoke into the embedded microphone, "Good morning, class. I want to make sure that everyone is in the right place, this is Introduction to Jedi History. So if any of you happen to be in the wrong classroom, now is your chance to leave. Anyone in the wrong place? Don't worry it happens to at least one student each year..." The Cerean professor smiled and waited. After a moment of silence, a embarrassed looking Bothan picked up his things and headed for the exit.

The Cerean waited for the door to close before speaking again, "There is always one..." he said with a rueful smile. "On to more important matters, I am Professor Taruk, and..."

Suddenly, one student popped out of his seat. Sascha thought that he was another student that realized he was in the wrong classroom, but the tall, lanky human didn't look embarrassed. He looked angry.

"No more Jedi propaganda!" the human shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

Sascha, stunned, watched as a few more students of varying species also stood from their seats and repeated, "No more Jedi propaganda!"

Professor Taruk held up his hands, "Students, please sit down."

More students joined in with the chant.

"Please, you must understand that I'm merely teaching history..."

But whatever the Professor was going to say was drowned out by more and more students standing and shouting. All of them repeating the phrase, "No more Jedi propaganda!" All told, it looked to Sascha that about a tenth of the students in the lecture hall were standing and shouting. Admittedly, some of the students were trying to persuade the protesters to sit down, but few were having much effect.

Sascha turned to his right and saw that his new Miralian friend Riya looked absolutely mortified at what was going on. For his part, he was having a hard time figuring out what he should do. Join the protesters and see if he could fit in? Try to take notes on who was shouting? Try to find the leaders and identify him or her?

At the front of the room, Professor Taruk was trying desperately to restore order in his classroom, "If you would all please sit down I'd be happy to address your concerns..."

The protesting students were not interested in a dialog though. The protesting students started up another chant, "No more Jedi tyranny!"

Sascha slunk in his seat. These protesters were ardently against an organization that they had likely had never affected their lives in any way. But still they wanted the Jedi, and thus him, off of their world. He really did not understand why there was this undercurrent of hatred against the Jedi. The Jedi fought for peace and was about as neutral as you could get.

Professor Taruk tried to wait out this new chant, but his patience wore out. "I will be calling security, so those of you who continue to interrupt my lecture please exit. There is a time and place to protest, but disrupting the lecture of your peers is not one of them."

"But this is the only way we can get our message heard," shouted back one student, whom Sascha was unable to identify.

"I don't care," replied this Professor, "Do it in someone else's classroom."

"Why do the Jedi get such loyalty from you?" the same speaker sneered. "How much are they paying you?"

Sascha finally got a good look at who was confronting the Professor. It was a tall, gangly looking looking Aybarian, and judging by the expression on his face, he was severely annoyed. Sascha quickly used the Force to probe the Aybarian, to find out if he was planning on inflicting violence. If he was, Sascha would intervene, undercover or not. But the Aybarian, his woolly hair visible underneath his shirt, seemed merely intent on proving a point.

The Aybarian started to make his way down the steps of the lecture hall, eventually standing directly in front of the Cerean professor, "Those who side with the Jedi are blind to the truth, Professor. This place of higher learning should not be subject to the lies and the deceptions of the Jedi Order. The truth will be heard Professor."

Professor Taruk tried to find a response to that, but couldn't find the words. Clearly heartbroken, the Professor watched about one of every ten students in his class walk out, still chanting their anti-Jedi slogans.

After the door closed behind them, there was an audible silence. No one wanted to say anything. Finally Professor Taruk spoke up, "We'll take a short break, I guess. I'll teach the class as long as there are no more interruptions."

The Cerean shambled out of the classroom, still obviously in a bit of shock. The students that were left in lecture hall began to speak amongst themselves.

Riya leaned over and spoke quietly to him, "That was...something."

"It was something all right," he said glumly.

"Are you okay? You look pale," asked Riya

Sascha wasn't feeling that great at the very moment, but he didn't want to show it. "I'm okay." He shook his head, "I guess I just don't understand why people are protesting a lecture."

Riya smiled slyly, "Don't you see what they did? They all signed up for this class so that students who really wanted to learn about Jedi history couldn't. Selfish and cynical. But if you wanted to stop people from learning about the Jedi...this is one small way to do it. Plus, they just cast doubt over anything we'll learn this semester."

"Good point." Sascha settled into his seat, and tried to conceal the sense of dread that he was currently feeling. This mission was turning out to be a bigger deal than he ever thought it might be.

* * *

Back in their apartment, the two Padawans were discussing what had happened during their day. Her day had been uneventful, which meant that she and Sascha were discussing what had happened during his Jedi history class. It was almost disappointing that the only interesting thing happened to Sascha. She preferred it when interesting things happened to her.

"Did you get any names of these protesters or anything?" she asked.

Sascha shook his head and looked at the ceiling of their apartment, "I can give general descriptions, but they weren't exactly wearing nametags."

"And how many were there?"

"Like 10% of the class maybe? It felt like more at the moment, because they were loud. And they were organized, coordinated." Her friend shook his head, "I think that this anti-Jedi sentiment is growing. Which means they are recruiting. What doesn't make sense is how we haven't been able to find how they are recruiting."

"It's been like three days Sascha. Give it time." Nara slid her legs out in front of her so she could sit more comfortably on the floor. "How about the girl that you were talking with. You got her number?"

Sascha blushed and stammered, "No."

Nara slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand, "Why not?"

Sascha stood up, his face twisting into a mask of barely concealed anger, "What is your obsession with my dating life, Nara?"

Nara got up and stood face to face with Sascha, "Oh for Force sakes, Sascha! I don't care about your dating life! From the way you talked about her she seemed like a friendly face though! One that might have been useful to check in with occasionally to see if she's seen any of these anti-Jedi people! Aren't you the one building a network of friends? By the Force, I thought you'd know better!"

Sascha's look of anger faded into one of sheepishness, "I guess I screwed up."

"Yeah, you did." She sighed, "Look Sascha, we clearly do not know what we are up against. It's possible that you saw the entirety of the anti-Jedi group today in your classroom. Or it could be thousands of people strong. We don't know. And until we know, we need every source of information you can get, including random girls you meet in class."

Sascha sat heavily on the couch and again looked at the ceiling of the apartment. "You're right. Of course." His mouth quirked, "Usually I'm the one dishing out the good advice."

She smiled out of the corner of her mouth, "Who do you think I learned to give good advice from?"

"Your Master, of course," said Sascha modestly.

That was of course, partially true, but she had learned a lot from Sascha about how to analyze a mission. Her friend had an analytic mind that was well suited to such things. Her brain wasn't quite wired the same way, but she tried to learn as much as she could from Sascha's example. The single best thing she had learned from Sascha was that everything could be a clue, so pay attention to everything, even the things that you think didn't matter. Like the opinion of a random person you met in class. Was...whatever her name was the key to breaking this mission wide open? Almost certainly not. But it make no sense not to follow every lead to its logical conclusion. Jedi didn't always make for the best detectives, so they had to be tenacious, just like any other detective would be.

She tilted her head up to look at her friend, "Can I say something, Sascha?"

"Does it matter if I say no?" Sascha said sarcastically.

"Not really. Look, Sascha. I don't really care about your dating life. I think that I really put too much pressure on you to make things physical...I think I wanted you to be more like me. I've decided that I'll respect the choices that you make." She smiled impishly at him, "But if you ever want advice on how to woo the opposite sex, I'm willing to help you out."

Sascha actually looked touched, "Thank you, Nara."

She punched Sascha's shoulder, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for my date."

"Half-date."

She shrugged, "I might need to flirt with him to get him to say more than he wants to."

"Sounds like a fun assignment...he's not very good looking is he?"

"Let's just say the spikes on his head are not sexy. He's not bad looking. But he's not good looking either."

Sascha made a _tsking_ sound, "So speciest, Nara."

"Puh-lease. I like men of all description and species. I just happen to like Togruta men more." Nara started towards the refresher, "Now excuse me while I go put on some makeup."

"Don't let me get in your way," remarked Sascha casually.

"I wasn't."

Nara spent maybe three minutes working on her appearance. A quasi date wasn't much to get worked up about, but it wouldn't help things to have her show up looking like a slob. It was a delicate balance, playing the female. Showing up in casual clothes and without any additional makeup would have been a surefire, if subtle, way to indicate to Zven that she wasn't interested in him romantically. However if she put too much time into her appearance, that could indicate the opposite, which was also something she wanted to avoid. So she had to find the middle ground. That was the nice thing about growing up in the Jedi Temple - there was no dating scene, so worrying about things like this was something she only needed to do on rare occasions.

She decided to add some blush to her cheeks, much as she had on Chandrilla, it was the kind of thing that showed that she had put some effort into her appearance without overdoing it.

She exited the refresher, and presented herself to Sascha. As usual, Sascha seemed to find her attempts to doll herself up more amusing than anything. "It took you that long to do _that?_ "

Like most men that Nara had ever met, Sascha thought that makeup simply applied itself by some sort of incredible coincidence. "How does it look?"

"I don't know Nara, you have two eyes, and access to a mirror don't you?"

"Sascha, please drop the sarcasm for a moment. We are on a mission."

Her friend's mischievous look faded, "Sorry. Yeah you look good, Nara. Do you want me to come along? You know...as your..."

"...boyfriend. It's not a curse word, Sascha. And no, I think it's better if you don't come along."

He nodded, "Okay."

That was something she liked about Sascha. He was not overprotective and he trusted her. When she said that she didn't want him along, there was no argument and no chance he'd surreptitiously follow her like her life was some sort of boring holodrama.

"See you in a bit, Sascha. I have my comlink on if you need me. Keep yours on if I need you."

Sascha gave her a quick salute, "Good luck on your half date, Nara Nalto."

The location for her and Zven's 'not quite a date' was a quiet restaurant that was just outside of Apren Polytechnic's main campus. Nara arrived fashionably late and met Zven at the front door to the restaurant, "Sorry I'm late she apologized. I'm just getting used to getting around. I got lost twice," she said sheepishly.

Zven waved her apology away easily, "It happens." He waved at the restaurant, "This is one of my favourite places outside campus. It's busy at night, but as we are early enough, we should be able to get a booth still."

Nara took note that the restaurant was called Yeltash's diner, and that it purported to serve 'Authentic Chandrillan cuisine.' Having been to Chandrilla, knew that the Chandrillans preferred their meals to be vegetarian...which was not the kind of thing that interested her in terms of food. So that meant that either Zven had intentionally picked a stupid restaurant to bring her to. Or he didn't know about Togruta being carnivores.

Zven had at least dressed up a little, putting on clothes that were a bit more casual. A red skinned Zabrak with black tattoos, Zven carried himself with an air of intelligence and standoffishness. His high collared shirt even suggested as much. If Nara had just met him for the first time, she would have described him as a priggish intellectual. And considering she knew him a little bit, she was pretty sure that was an accurate assessment.

Zven graciously led her to an open booth and sat across from her. The menu for the restaurant popped up in holographic form off to her right. To her surprise the menu showed of a surprising amount of reasonably priced meats.

"You look surprised," Zven said evenly, hiding a little grin of amusement.

"Yeah...I just thought Chandrillan cuisine was largely vegetarian."

"Ah," said Zven, looking amused now, "That's because you seem to know something of Chandrillan culture. Most people here just associate 'Chandrilla' with 'quality.' So if you want your restaurant to be able to charge higher prices, despite being exactly the same as every other restaurant in the area..."

"You market it as something more upscale than it is," Nara finished. "Smart. Disingenuous, but smart." She shook her head, "But I don't get it, why do you eat here if its the same as other places?"

Zven shrugged, "Because I like to reward intelligence. And it was intelligent to market this place as a Chandrillan eatery."

"And that's why you wanted to meet with me. Because you respect intelligence," she said. It was a bit of a bold statement, but she wanted to acquire Zven's respect, and to do that she figured that she'd have to prove herself worthy of being around him (and what he surely thought as his 'advanced' intellect.) Instead of playing the passive female, she decided to be her usual, boisterous self.

Zven gave her an appraising look, "You are a bold one, aren't you Miss Nalto?"

"Just Nara is fine. And yes, I do have a reputation for being bold and speaking my mind. It tends to get me in trouble."

The Zabrak nodded knowingly, "Ah, I was similar when I was younger, but perhaps we should order food first before we get started on our conversation."

Nara smiled, showing her teeth a little, "I am hungry."

Zven bowed his head politely, "I will be a gentleman and offer to pay for your meal, though I am progressive enough not to be offended if you do not accept."

"I'll pay for mine. Thank you for offering." Nara quickly sorted through the menu to order some fruit juice and some bantha meat strips. Judging by the tone of their meeting so far, Zven was not seeing this as a date – he was certainly being more friendly than flirty. That suited Nara fine, she didn't really want to lead anyone on to get the information she wanted.

Zven entered his order and turned his attention back to her, "How are you enjoying your time at Apren Polytechnic?"

"It's quite a change," she admitted. "I only had one class today, but it seems like everything is completely different than school back on Corsuscant."

"You'll get used to it," said Zven, not unkindly. "It is, however, a huge transition. Imagine, in your class today, there were students from more than a hundred different planets and school systems. Sure the Republic provides some guidelines for education, but there are many local...peculiarities when it comes to education. And Apren Polytechnic needs to create a curriculum that works for everyone. It's something I haven't fully appreciated until a few months ago."

Nara nodded noncommittally. It was a good point, and one that she hadn't considered, but wasn't exactly the information she was after.

Zven seemed to sense as much, "Sorry, I have the tendency to just say whatever that is on my mind."

"I think I'm wired similarly to you."

The two discussed pleasantries for a while until the food arrived. Nara's Bantha strips were delivered piping hot and with a side of what she hoped would be a nice, tangy sauce. Zven had ordered a somewhat fragrant but nice smelling stew.

Nara was about to take a bite of her food when Zven spoke, "So, have you decided if you are joining our little debating society yet?"

"I'm interested," she said in between bites, "But I'm trying to see if I'll have time for extracurricular activities, and if I do joining a club, I want to join one with my boyfriend so we can spend time together. I'm not sure he's the debating type though."

Zven hid a look of disappointment, "That is a shame, I have to say that you showed signs of being an excellent addition to our little club. We could use someone who is willing to debate more...controversial topics."

"I'm not ruling it out," she said. "I just want to make sure I pay attention to my studies." Nara was aware that she was playing something of a dangerous game here, there was a chance that Zven would cease his pursuit of her, but she judged that playing hard to get would make Zven more open to speaking his mind, which was what she needed.

"Ah, well, I suppose I can't begrudge you for your commitment to your studies," said Zven. Zven took his spoon and had a sip of his stew. "I did want to ask what possessed you to broach that particular topic. Are you interested in the Jedi? Or was it just a provocative debate topic?"

"A little bit of both," Nara admitted. "It was a topic I tried to bring up sometimes on Coruscant, but my teachers didn't want to discuss it. I thought that I might find a more receptive audience in a place of higher learning."

Zven hesitated, his intelligent eyes closing for a long moment, "You will find that although some are open to hearing all sorts of new and novel opinions, many are totally closed minded."

Nara tried to keep excitement out of her expression, it seemed like she was getting somewhere with Zven. Now that the bait had been cast, all she had to do now was reel him in...

"I'm not sure I totally believe my thesis about the Jedi being bad for the Republic, but the fact that no one wants to debate it always annoyed me." Nara took a casual bite of her food. Her heart was beating a little faster than usual, but she tried to remain calm, to remember her purpose for being here. It helped, slightly.

"I think that your thesis was correct," Zven said in a quiet voice, "Even though you made me debate against it. There is no doubt that the Jedi were useful in their day, but their day is long gone. There is no Sith empire to fight, no dark side to protect against. They should just go quietly into the night. Maintain their traditions if they must, but on a planet that is not part of the Republic. Leave us alone.

"I always thought it was kind of odd that the Republic is supposed to be a bastion of democracy, but it allows the Jedi Order to have such a big role within it. The Jedi Order is anything but democratic, I mean the same guy has been running it for like three hundred years! That seems totally ridiculous to me."

"I believe that it shows that the Jedi have no place in a modern, free-thinking, democratic Republic."

"I can see that," Nara said cautiously. "But how would one even try to get the Jedi to leave the Republic? They've been a part of it since its inception."

Zven's eyes quickly darted around, "I believe that it must be shown to as many people as possible that the Jedi Order is an anachronism that is no longer needed. Only by convincing others can a grassroots movement take hold. Only then can we make the politicians see the righteousness of our cause."

Nara smiled. Jackpot.


	9. Chapter 9: Acting in Concert, Part 1

**LordDarthYoda** \- I think there are a lot of red and black Zabrak's in the galaxy. So I wouldn't read too much into it.

 **Speechbubbleme** \- The best part about writing science fiction is that you can touch on issues like free speech on campuses and current issues like those without having to come out and say that you are doing it. The best Sci-fi presents a world that is alien, but touches on issues that we deal with in everyday life. I always think about Padme's line in EP 3, "So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause," and how true that line is. But you can't really get offended by it because it takes place in a world that doesn't really exist.

A/N - I don't know how many of you reading this are also writers, but this next little section of the story really was supposed to be shorter. Then I started writing and adding on new sections and having different things happen. So now this next chapter is a two part chapter! Funny how things work sometimes...

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Acting in Concert, Part One**

"How goes things with Zven Hitplik, Miss Nalto?" Sascha asked sarcastically. The two Jedi were doing a stretching routine in their apartment, and with nothing better to do, they were swapping information in their usual adversarial manner.

"He's invited me to a party in a couple of days," replied Nara. "I continue to chat with him on a daily basis, where I'm letting him slowly convince me about the evils of the Jedi."

Sascha moved into a new pose, feeling his muscles straining slightly against the exertion, "So do you know if he's the leader of this anti-Jedi movement or if he's just a devoted follower?"

Nara balanced herself on the toes of her left foot, showing off her excellent balance, "Zven seems like he would be the type to be in the upper leadership. He's smart, driven, and he seems to know what he's doing. But I don't know for sure."

"That hunch you had really paid off, Nara."

"It hasn't paid off with anything, yet. Plus, we still haven't answered the question of what we are going to do with these people? Just arrest the leaders? Arrest them all?"

"I suggest rounding them up, putting them on a starship and then launching them into the sun," Sascha said sarcastically.

"You have a weird sense of humor sometimes, Sascha."

Sascha shook out of his stretch and shook out his limbs, "I never claimed otherwise."

Nara likewise ended her stretching routine, "I haven't come up with a good solution yet," she admitted. "We could message our Masters and ask them for advice?"

He shook his head as he walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water, "We aren't supposed to contact them unless its an emergency."

"But we could _create_ and emergency if we don't handle this situation correctly."

That was true, nothing would create headlines across the sector like 'Jedi Padawans overstepping their bounds and arresting a bunch of innocent students.' "If you think we need help, I could relay our situation to Doro or Trigg and they could ask their Masters."

Nara rested her head lightly against the doorway, "I still think we should be doing this on our own, but right now I don't feel like there is an obvious solution that we can work towards. I hate it when things aren't obvious."

"We're still in the fact finding stage of the mission. Let's stay patient."

Nara hesitated and then nodded. "How are you finding the classes at school?"

"Stupifeyingly easy. I heard some students complaining about the amount of work today...but its all laid out in the syllabus. It's not like there is some sort of mystery going on."

Nara smiled, "How long do you think any of these students would last at the Temple?"

"Some of them would make it. Others would never get over the fact that we don't have 'weekends' at the Temple, we train and learn every day and we don't get a day off."

"It's easier not to get days off, I think," said Nara. "I mean we have rest days and days where we don't have as much work to do, but we never really leave 'work mode.'"

"You know, Nara. I just think we are from a completely different world from these people."

"These people?" Nara laughed lightly, "You make them sound like they are aliens. We're the odd ones, Sascha. They are the normal ones."

"If there's one thing I learned, its that _no one_ is normal. Normal is just a strange idea that everyone strives for."

"Normal sounds boring," said Nara flippantly.

Sascha smiled at his friend, "I think you are right. So, any plans for tonight? I've got some little report due for my Jedi History class due next week and it might be good if I get ahead on the work."

Nara peered at him, "You aren't going to the concert?"

"Concert?"

"Ezah Reisel? Playing the Student Amphitheater at Apren Polytechnic tonight?"

"Ezah? Ezah is having a concert tonight…here? In person?"

"That's how concerts usually work, Sascha Whitestar," Nara said patronizingly.

Sascha blinked, "How did I not know this was happening?"

Nara grinned, clearly she was enjoying that he was clueless, "Sascha, don't take this the wrong way, but sometimes you are pretty damn oblivious. There have been signs advertising this concert everywhere on campus. I assumed you knew."

"Well you assumed wrong. We should certainly go though."

Nara hesitated, seeming uncomfortable, "I wasn't going to go."

"Why not?"

"Because Ezah is your friend, not mine."

Sascha shook his head, "I mean if you don't want to go, that's fine, Nara. But I'd want you to come, you are my friend, and I like spending time with you."

Nara smiled, "Thanks, Sascha." She headed back to the bedroom, "I have class soon. Just for an hour though. You going to be hanging around here?"

"Yeah. I'm going to meditate for a while."

Nara picked up her school bag and headed for the door, offering him a quite salute, "Okay. See you in a bit, Sascha."

Sascha did some school work before settling in for his meditation, assuming that Nara might want to join him in meditation after she got back from her class. His solo meditations were usually pretty calm. This one wasn't.

Once his meditation started, he got a deep sense of unease, of impending danger. He concentrated, trying to find out the source of this unease. Instead of fighting the Force, Sascha let it show him what it intended to show.

Sascha was bombarded by a quick collage of memories, almost all of them painful. There was a quick glimpse of him failing during his first attempt at the Apprentice Tournament, back when he was just a Jedi Initiate. Then there was another brief glimpse at the time on Ubrora where he and Nara had fought and lost against the Mandalorian Coren Vox and his allies. It was like being forced to watch a montage of all the times that he had been in physical or emotional peril.

It was a deeply disturbing experience, but at least it wasn't showing him anything new. These were all memories that he had dealt with, and conquered. Still, reliving them in brief snippets wasn't exactly what he had meant to do this afternoon.

The last thing this vision showed him was the times where he had been unable to save people from harm. Watching Aurine be wounded by those battle droids on his very first mission. Watching the troopers that he had fought along side in Ubrora be killed. And last but not least, watching Weliss taking off Tyra's hand at the wrist.

Painful memories. But ones he had held on to, because he needed to remember that he was not all powerful, and that sometimes, he had to make the tough decisions. But part of making that tough decision was not forgetting who and what he had lost.

When the vision finally ended he returned to full awareness of himself. He was physically in the same place as he had been, before he had started to meditate, only much more tired. Sascha tried to sit up, but was too dizzy to do even that. "Force visions always take so much out of me," he said to no one in particular. He'd recover quickly enough, but he would probably be out of it for a few more moments.

Sascha heard the front door quietly open, and a concerned looking Nara Nalto rushed in. "Sascha, you're all right?"

"Nara...did you go to class?" he said, disorientated. How much time had passed since he had started meditating? It hadn't seemed like a long time, but now Nara was back?

Nara knelt in front of him, still looking very concerned, "I just got back. I ran back here because I thought you were in trouble."

"Sorry, I just had a very strange meditation session," he said as he wiped his forehead with his hand. His hand came away slick with sweat.

"What did you see?"

"Pain...suffering...loss...anger. There was a...song that was playing on repeat. Just a few chords that I kept hearing." He shook his head and closed his eyes, willing himself to remember the song that had been playing on repeat. That was a strange thing to remember, but maybe it was important. His eyes widened when he figured out what the song was, "It was...Jedi Boy...Ezah's song." That was weird. But that was what he had heard, like a soundtrack to his vision.

"You think this vision meant something?"

He nodded, "You know I don't get visions very often, but when they are like this...they tend to mean something."

Nara stood and paced in silence for a few moments, "So, if we assume that the Force isn't just being random, that leaves two people your unease could be about. Ezah or you."

He shook his head and rose on shaky legs, "I'm confident that it wasn't about me. It must be about Ezah."

Nara's face showed concern, "You okay, Sascha? You don't look so hot."

"I'm going to go sit on the couch, but please don't take that as a sign of weakness," he smiled slightly at Nara.

"Of course not. So if I go to the fridge and get a bottle of water for you, I also don't want you to think I'm doing it because of some perceived weakness," Nara replied sarcastically.

Sascha chuckled as he sat down on the couch. His strength was coming back to him, but whatever he had experienced had really taken it out of him, momentarily. Nara returned a moment later with the aforementioned water. "Thanks, my friend."

"No problem. So do you still think that Ezah is in trouble?"

He nodded, "I'll call her right now, and warn her."

"You'll do no such thing," said Nara sternly.

Words failed Sascha, "Huh?"

Nara sat beside him on the couch, "We have no idea what the threat towards Ezah is. If we tell her she's in danger, she might end up running right into it."

That was a valid point. "Okay...so what do we do?"

Nara smirked, "It's time that we surprised your friend backstage at her concert."

* * *

The two Padawans took an airspeeder to the auditorium that was putting on the concert tonight. As they stepped out of the speeder the saw the huge lineup that was waiting outside to get in. The line was orderly and made up of just about every species that might enjoy a music concert.

Sascha still had an uneasy feeling that seemed to surround him. That's why he was letting Nara take the lead. Maybe his emotions were compromised. Ezah was his friend after all. But he trusted that Nara would make the right decisions. For his friend, the mission came first, and everything else was secondary. It was that kind of determination that Sascha had come to trust over the years.

Nara thrust her datapad into her hands, "Look at this."

"Can't you just tell me what it is?"

Nara rolled her eyes and grabbed the datapad back from his hands, "It's a message from our good friend Zven Hitplik. He asks if I'm going to the concert, and when I tell him no, he's says that it's a shame because it will be a quote 'interesting night.'

"That sounds auspicious."

"Right." Nara hesitated, "Can I say the obvious? If there's someone that's planning an attack or whatever on Ezah, its not going to be Zven. He's an academic, a politically minded person. He's not the type to hire a bunch of goons to attack a celebrity."

"We don't know him very well, Nara. And even if we admit that he's not hiring an assassin, its his rhetoric that might be causing this. By making the Jedi seem 'evil' he and whoever is with him is making us targets. Their making us the 'other.' It works like xenophobia, same concept. Demonize a group and then hold your hands up and say 'Oh, I never said actually attack these people...I just said that they were destroying the Republic.'"

Nara nodded along with him, "I get you. I'm just pointing out that Zven seems clean to me."

"Okay, on to more pertinent matters – can I call Ezah now?"

"We should try to snoop around a bit, and I think we can get backstage without alerting her."

"How, exactly?"

Nara grinned, "Just look like we belong. And if someone catches us, just use a mind trick on them."

He scratched at his head, "Sometimes, I hate you confident you are, Nara."

Nara started walking for a moment before pausing, cocking her head inquisitively, "Do you hear that?"

Sascha concentrated, but could hear nothing that wasn't totally ordinary, "No, I don't."

His fellow Padawan turned and started off in the other direction, "I hear shouting. Let's check it out."

He still didn't hear anything, but he trusted that Nara's superior Togruta senses weren't leading her astray. Walking back towards where the lineup was still waiting patiently for the doors to open, Sascha also began to be aware of something that was making noise in the distance. And that noise was coming closer, gaining in strength. "What is it?" he asked Nara.

Nara's expression turned into a snarl, "Protesters."

"Let me guess, anti-Jedi protesters?"

"Yep. Chanting about how the Jedi need to go." Nara put a hand on his shoulder, "Come on, we need to get out of here."

Sascha knocked Nara's hand off his shoulder, "Wait, what? Shouldn't we investigate?"

"No. We're currently here to protect Ezah." Nara started walking back in the previous direction, "Plus, Zven might be a part of the protest and he'll certainly recognize me. It could lead to...complications, since I've already told him that I'm staying at home tonight."

"I could monitor the protest while you protected Ezah," he suggested.

Nara whirled on him, "In what galaxy does _that_ make sense, Sascha? Ezah doesn't know who I am. I can't just waltz in on her and tell her that I'm a Jedi here to protect her! We're here to help someone who might be in trouble, Everything else takes a back seat for the moment. Or are you suggesting our priorities should be otherwise?"

Surprised by the forceful speech from Nara, Sascha merely bowed his head, acknowledging that Nara was correct.

The two Padawans left the approaching storm of the protest behind, looking instead for a way to get into the back of the auditorium without being noticed. After a short walk, the two Padawans found where supplies were being brought into the auditorium. There were a couple of larger speeders that were usually used to haul supplies outside of a loading dock. But there didn't seem to be an obvious entrance, especially one that was unguarded. In fact, the only entrance that Sascha could see was guarded by a bored but competent looking Miralian security guard, who was checking the credentials of each person as they went in.

"Well. What do we do?" he asked Nara.

Nara surveyed the scene for a moment, "How do you feel about playing the young, innocent, possibly drunk, couple?"

"I hate you Nara," he said playfully as he took her hand.

The two Padawans waited for a few moments, waiting for there to be less foot traffic around the back entrance. Then, when the coast was relatively clear, the two Jedi staggered into the open, laughing loudly. This was a gambit that, sadly, he and Nara had attempted more than once. And it was usually very effective. Which was amazing, because Sascha wasn't sure if he'd ever even _been_ drunk. But he was good at faking it.

As the two Padawans approached the security guard, Sascha could see the man sigh slightly. Nara shoved him lightly and Sascha, playing drunk, stumbled and nearly fell down, "Nara!"

Nara, her eyes half-closed, laughed loudly, "Oh come on, boyfriend, you gotta be strong on your feet!"

Sascha staggered back over to Nara and swept her off her feet, stumbled for a few steps and put her back down, "Be strong on your feet, Togruta!"

"Oh come on, I like being swept off my feet!"

"Excuse me. Are you two lost?" asked the Miralian security guard. The Miralian was clearly both amused and not in the mood to deal with two drunk students.

Sascha waved at the building, "Yeah, this is where the concert is, right? Do we give you our tickets?" Sascha made a show of checking his pockets, trying to find his tickets.

Nara giggled drunkenly, "They are on your datapad, silly."

Sascha stumbled slightly, "Yeah, of course. I'm so stupid."

"That's why I like you. You don't challenge my intellect."

The security guard was clearly losing his patience with the two of them, "This is not the entrance for the concert. The entrance is over in that direction," the guard pointed at where they had come from. "Now you...miss Togruta..."

Nara waved her hand in front of the Miralian in a whimsical gesture, "You will let us past." No longer acting inebriated, Nara's voice was no longer the slurred speech of a drunk, but the calm, strong voice that compelled results.

The Miralian blinked a couple of times, struggling against the mental command issued by Nara. Nara continued staring intently at the Miralian, "You will let us inside," she repeated.

Nara's mind was strong enough that when they practiced together she could overwhelm his mental defenses. It took her some effort, but she could. By comparison, the Miralian security guard stood no chance.

"I will let you inside," the Miralian repeated distantly.

"You will forget we were here," Nara said.

"I will forget you were here," the security guard said.

Nara and Sascha slipped past the temporarily bewildered guard and into the building past him. The hallways here were mostly filled with various audio equipment, and lots and lots of wires. Though doing things wirelessly was the way of things these days, music snobs insisted that some of the 'magic' and quality of music was lost when it was transmitted wirelessly. Thus, the wires. And the old fashioned speakers. The two Jedi got a few odd looks, but generally tried to look like they belonged, keeping their heads held high, walking quickly as if they had somewhere to be, and engaging in brief chatter.

"Okay Sascha, where's Ezah?"

"Uh, I'm trying to figure it out. She's close though."

"Well _that's_ a relief."

"Just let me concentrate, Nara."

It was going to be hard for him to locate Ezah. For one, it was hard to locate non-Jedi in an area with a multitude of people around. For another, he wasn't really that close with Ezah. He'd only seen her on a handful of occasions and in all honesty while he considered her to be a friend, their friendship was one that had flourished over long distances.

But when he cleared his mind from all the hustle and bustle around him, he could still picture Ezah, picture the way her smile could light up the room... Goodness...he was fantasizing about her, wasn't he? So juvenile. But amazingly...it worked. He could sense her faintly in the Force. "Take the next right."

"As you command, navigator," Nara commented dryly.

Sascha pointed out a few more twists and turns as they navigated ever deeper into the auditorium. Then after one turn, they were finally facing an isolated hallway with a door at the end of it. Outside of the door stood a tall human, one that looked like he ate weights for breakfast, and enjoyed it. Oh, and for lunch, steroids. Lots of steroids.

The guard instantly noticed that there were two young people gawking down the hallway and he marched towards them, "Hey, you! You aren't supposed to be here!"

Nara startled and threw up a fake smile, "We were just looking for..."

"This is a restricted area. I'm going to ask you to leave, immediately." The guard's hand dropped threateningly towards a stun baton, a common weapon used by security forces to subdue potential threats.

"We're going, we're going," said Sascha, stepping back from the advancing guard. "Could you just tell us where the front stage is? We're doing a final sound check."

The guard, his pale skin only seeming to be barely able to conceal all his muscles underneath the dark suit he was wearing, gestured in the opposite direction, "It's down there somewhere. Now scram."

Sascha put on a cheerful smile, "Okay, thanks."

Nara, off to his side, was concentrating. As she had done before, she waved her hand in front of the guard's face, "You _will_ let us past."

Unlike the Miralian security guard, this guard was very focused on his task. That made it much harder for Nara to convince him to step aside. But in a battle of wills, he would always back Nara.

After a couple of nervous moments, the guard suddenly straightened, swaying lightly on his feet, "I will let you past."

Nara grabbed his hand, "I don't think that's going to last long, Sascha, let's hustle." The two Padawans jogged quickly to the end of the hall and knocked on the door.

After a few moments the door swung open to reveal a distracted looking Ezah Reisel, dressed in a plain tunic and pants. When she saw who was on the other side of the door, her eyes widened, "Sascha!?"

"Hi Ezah. Can we come in?"

"Yes, yes, yes, of course, come on in."

The two Jedi scurried inside and closed the door behind them. Ezah's dressing room was a room of a fair size that was painted a dull gray. The holoprojector on the wall was showing the nightly news from Coruscant while there was some soft instrumental music playing in the distant background.

Once the Jedi were inside, Ezah threw her arms around him and enveloped him in a hug, "It's so good to see you, Sascha. But why are you here? And why did you just show up?"

Sascha returned the hug, and noticed Nara's little smile as he did. "We think that you might be in danger."

Nara nodded, crossing her arms across her chest, "In fact now that I'm around you, I sense that there is danger approaching as well."

Ezah stepped back and appraised Nara, "You must be Nara Nalto, Sascha's friend. Greetings, Master Jedi."

Nara smiled faintly, "Just call me Nara, please."

"Right. Nara." Ezah went and sat on a luxurious looking couch, "How did I get in trouble this time?"

The two Padawans shared a glance, "We're not really sure," Nara finally said. "We have...theories though."

Ezah looked at the ceiling, "This is a Jedi thing, isn't it. Another disturbance in the Force around Ezah Reisel?"

"It's pretty much like that," he said, sitting next to her. "Look, it's like the first time we met. We'll protect you, and everything will come out fine."

Ezah smiled faintly, "I'm happy to see you, honestly. But you are like one of those friends that always brings drama when they are around."

To Sascha, Ezah looked the same as ever, an effortlessly beautiful, radiant, blue Twi'lek with a soft, supple frame and an air of quiet vulnerability that she always seemed to carry. He could see that Nara was still wary of his friend, not quite sure what to make of her.

"Sorry Ezah. But if you wanted a more normal friend, you shouldn't have become friends with a Jedi."

Ezah smirked, her familiar spirit finally returning to her, "I'll celebrate my friend being here after you tell me why there are two Jedi hanging around one of the quietest planets in the galaxy. You here on vacation?"

"Jedi don't exactly get vacations. We're here on a mission," said Nara.

"We're here investigating anti-Jedi sentiment," he added.

Nara glared at him, obviously unhappy that he had told Ezah the real reasoning behind why they were on Estimar.

Ezah obviously didn't catch Nara's look. "Really, anti-Jedi sentiment? I guess that explains why I might be in trouble today then."

He frowned, "Why would you say that?"

Ezah slapped at her head, "Because like every two-bit celebrity these days, I get death threats. That security guard out there that I assume you beat unconscious or turned invisible to avoid? I didn't want to hire him. My insurance company hired him." Ezah blew out a long breath, "I get threats, but the past few months more of the threats have turned from 'Twi'lek's shouldn't sing' to 'You should stop being a shill for the Jedi Order.'"

"And why didn't you bring this to my attention, Ezah?" he asked.

"Because I didn't think it was serious! I thought that anyone who was stupid enough to threaten my life because I was some sort of paid Jedi spokeswoman wouldn't have the brains to actually hurt me! But once again, Ezah Reisel has to get bailed out by her Jedi friends! Maybe these people are right. Maybe I am nothing without the Jedi."

Nara shot him a look. Clearly this was not the sort of reaction she had been expecting. And to be honest, it was not exactly the reaction that he had expected. Ezah seemed exhausted. Beaten down. Ready to give up. She had expressed to him at times that life on the road was hard, she was always travelling from planet to planet, performing a few shows on each one and then it was off to another planet to repeat the process.

"Ezah are you okay?"

Ezah jumped up from the couch, "No, I'm NOT okay! I can't escape craziness in my life! I can't go anywhere without reporters asking me which Jedi I wrote Jedi Boy about! My last boyfriend broke up with me because he thought that I wasn't fully committed to him because I was writing these songs about a Jedi! He thought I was seeing a Jedi on the side!"

Sascha stood and spoke calmly, "Ezah, I'm sorry to hear all of that. If you'd like Nara and I to leave right now, just say the word."

"Sascha?" said Nara, obviously not sure where he was going with this.

He just bowled over his friend, continuing to speak as if she hadn't interrupted. "But you know Ezah, that I wouldn't be here if I didn't think you were seriously under threat. So whatever other issues you might be having, I can see how I can help you with those later, but right now we need to worry about what is happening _right now_. Is there anyone else here that you trust with your life?"

Ezah stared at him for a long moment, then her shoulders drooped, "My manager, Hatara. She should know your here...because if she walks in and finds two strangers in my room, she'll call the police and that will make things super awkward."

"Okay, bring her in. We need to discuss our next moves."

While Ezah was taking her comlink and calling her manager, Nara subtly pulled him aside, "Are you sure you know what you are doing, Sascha? Ezah seems...off. It might be best just to get her out of here."

"Ezah's tougher than she seems right now. She'll come around."

Nara bit her lip, "I'll trust you for now, but I want you to be aware that I think this could all go really badly for us."

"Noted."

Ezah, finished with her call, looked at the two Jedi, "What were you two talking about?"

"We were just discussing what our next move was going to be," said Nara, slipping in a white lie easily.

"Okay. Can I tell my manager that you are both Jedi Padawans? I could say that you were winners of a fan contest who won a meet and greet."

"No. You can tell her who we are. There's no sense in hiding it," he said.

"If she blows our cover I'm going to be very, very annoyed," Nara said quietly.

"Hatara won't blow your cover...but I have to warn you she isn't as friendly to the Jedi as I am. She's a Jedi skeptic."

Sascha was about to inquire as to what Ezah meant by 'Jedi skeptic,' when the door swung open revealing a young human woman in her late twenties who was obviously Hatara. She was petite with short blonde hair, wearing a stylish shirt and pants combination that showed off a small amount of skin. From a quick glance at Nara, Sascha could tell that the Togruta was not a fan of this person.

Hatara's eyes widened one she saw that Ezah was not alone in her room, "Ezah...?"

Ezah held out her arms in a placating fashion, "They are with me. Lock the door, though would you?"

"Uh, okay," replied Hatara, hitting a button on the keypad behind her.

Ezah pointed at the two Jedi, "Hatara I want you to meet Nara Nalto and Sascha Whitestar, Jedi Padawans."

Hatara's mouth dropped open, "Jedi Padawans?!"

"That's us," he said, putting on his best smile, "It's nice to meet you Hatara."

"It's nice to meet such honourable guests...but if I may ask the obvious _question...why are you here?"_

"We believe that Ezah is in danger," he said simply.

"Oh. _Oh."_

"So we decided that we had to warn Ezah, personally," chimed in Nara.

"Do you think think that has anything to do with the anti-Jedi protesters that have set up outside?"

Nara winced, "Oh, you saw that? How many people are there?"

"It's not how _many_ people there are, its what they are doing." Hatara turned to Ezah, "I was just going to tell you, I think we should seriously consider postponing this concert. I don't think it's safe."

Ezah frowned, "Hatara, what is going on out there?"

Hatara hesitated, "I think you Jedi should see for yourselves."


	10. Chapter 10: Acting in Concert, Part 2

**LordDarthYoda** \- The site has been pretty weird for me these past weeks. As long as you still are watching :). I think Palpatine is more of an Opera follower than a pop star follower - I do think he would be cackling at the casual adulation given to the Jedi, and making a note to have that song banned when he becomes Emperor. I also think you understood Ezah's motivations perfectly.

 **TheAdamBomb505** \- Thanks! Here it is :)

A/N - has been pretty weird for me the past few weeks, so I just want everyone to make sure they haven't missed a chapter (it's especially relevant as this chapter is a Part 2). I always post around the same time on Sunday, so notification or not, you can always find an update at the usual time. Not totally happy how this chapter turned out, but I think it's okay. You'll have to let me know, as usual.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Acting in Concert, Part Two**

"What do you mean, we should see for ourselves? Can't you just tell us what they are doing out there?" Nara didn't quite understand why Hatara was playing so tight-lipped about this. A part of her wanted to suspect that Hatara was part of this anti-Jedi conspiracy, but that idea didn't really make any sense – as Ezah's manager, she presumably traveled world to world for Ezah's concerts – there was no way for her to be involved with a local group like the one based on Estimar. Still, it was hard to get over a first impression, and she was finding that she just didn't want to trust Hatara.

Hatara bowed her head slightly, "Apologies. I'll tell you what I know. First, there is a protest going on outside. Peaceful, but loud. Disruptive. Plus, when I left, the people in line were starting to argue against the protesters. Which meant the tension was escalating."

"Why aren't the people in line being let inside?" asked Sascha. "I thought the doors would be open by now."

"That brings me to my second point. Some of the volunteers and staff are rebelling. They are refusing to work."

"Why?" she asked.

Hatara glanced at Ezah before answering, "I was only able to speak with one of these people, but she said that they were participating in a non-violent protest against the 'pro-Jedi forces' within the government."

"I don't understand. Aren't these workers full time workers at this auditorium? Why are they protesting?" she asked.

Hatara had the answer for her, "For events like this, the company that runs the building hires students to work. Selling concessions, being ushers, and so on and so forth. So there is a large percentage of workers here that are students and because they are students, they don't seem particularly concerned over potentially losing their jobs."

Ezah, paced, obviously unhappy, "Let's get right down to it, can I perform or not?" asked Ezah

"The staff that they have here is doing their best. But they are behind schedule," replied Hatara. "I've already bumped one of the opening acts due to time constraints, I paid them for their time, of course. But we could just cancel the whole thing. Promise to come back at a later date. We've done it before, on Genari, when there was a hurricane that cancelled our show, we can do it again here."

"It would be a reasonable way out," Sascha suggested.

"I'm here to _perform_ ," said Ezah, "Not to run at the first sign of trouble."

"One of us should investigate," Nara said. "And I think it should be Sascha." For a whole bunch of reasons, she didn't want to mention _why_ it made sense for it to be Sascha that investigated these anti-Jedi protestors, but she hoped that her friend would just agree to do so.

"I'd be happy to go and see what is happening out there," Sascha said politely.

Ezah nodded and pointed to the door, "Go. Tell me what its like out there."

"But I just told you, Ezah," said Hatara impatiently.

"I want the Jedi's opinion," Ezah said, folding her arms across her chest. "And I need to get ready to perform. So the male needed to leave while I change into my clothes. "

As Nara knew he would, Sascha blushed, and he quickly walked towards the exit of the room. Before he exited, Sascha looked at her and then at Ezah. The unspoken message was clear – protect Ezah. She nodded in understanding before Sascha walked out the door.

Once he was gone, Ezah turned to Hatara, "I need you to go out there and get everything ready. Threaten those that won't work with lawsuits if you have to. Just...make it work, like you always do."

"Are you sure, Ezah? I still recommend that we just pack up and go."

"My mind is made up," Ezah said confidently.

Hatara shot Nara a quick look, "As long as you stay with one of the Jedi, I'll go see what I can do."

Ezah smiled slightly, "We aren't going anywhere. I need to do my vocal warm-up anyway."

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can," replied Hatara, hustling out the door.

And with that, Nara and Ezah were alone in the room together. Fearing that the Twi'lek would immediately start to undress, Nara averted her eyes. "So, what would you like me to do?" she asked.

"Just stay with me and make sure I don't die," Ezah said dryly.

"I think I can manage that."

"Also I might need you to do my makeup."

"That…I don't know if you want to ask a Jedi to do that. I have some experience of doing my own makeup, I can only remember applying makeup to friends a handful of times. They don't exactly teach makeup class at the Temple." She shook her head, "What I don't understand why you aren't just packing up and leaving. We're pretty sure that you are in danger…and I think you know it. Sascha is following your orders because he knows you. Hatara because you pay her. Me…You have to win me over, first."

"Sascha always said that you spoke your mind," Ezah commented, clearly not offended by her blunt speech. "And that's why I wanted you to stay with me."

"I'll stay with you. But I want you to know that I disagree with how you are handling this right now."

Ezah cocked her head to the side, "It's interesting. You believe I'm in danger, and you could drag me from my room kicking and screaming without a problem. But you don't. Why?"

"I don't know," Nara admitted. "I think if I knew concretely of what sort of danger you were in, I would do it. Like, say I knew an earthquake was going to destroy the building – I'd be grabbing you and rushing you to safety. But because I don't know _specifically_ why you might be in danger, I'm letting you potentially walk into it. Weird, huh?"

The Twi'lek shrugged and smiled, "You're the Jedi. I'm just the damsel in distress. Now if you don't mind averting your eyes for a moment, I'm going to change into my performance clothes."

Nara fastidiously studied the wall in front of her. While she wasn't quite as easily embarrassed as Sascha, she still felt a tinge of embarrassment that Ezah was apparently comfortable enough with a total stranger to disrobe while in the same room with her. That was the sort of trust people had in the Jedi. She would probably always find it unnerving.

After a couple of minutes of staring at the wall, Ezah laughed, "You done staring at the wall?"

"I'm done staring if you are done dressing."

"I'm was done dressing two minutes ago."

Nara turned around to see the Twi'lek dressed for the stage, tight black nerf leather pants along with a tight shirt that left a small amount of her midriff bare. If Ezah had been effortlessly beautiful before, now she was easily more beautiful, even to her. The Twi'lek's dress wasn't overly flashy, or even overly revealing, but it just...worked on her.

"Can I get the number for your tailor?" she asked.

Ezah grinned, "I could ask if they'd be willing to do a robe for you."

"I was being facetious."

"I was being polite."

Nara smiled, for the first time she felt herself warming to Ezah. The nervous, almost fearful Twi'lek was slowly disappearing, and a more confident young woman was taking her place. Maybe Ezah was just nervous before going on stage? That seemed like a workable hypothesis. Sascha thought enough of Ezah to call her his friend, and Sascha didn't suffer fools. Not for long, anyway.

"So how do we keep you safe? Let's assume that you will go out and perform tonight," she said.

Ezah shrugged, "It's not like I haven't performed in front of hostile crowds before. I once performed during the holy week on Astralis IV, a time when no woman is supposed to be allowed in public. I had religious fanatics throwing debris at me before and after the concert. But during the concert...they watched. _That's_ the power of music. They weren't always _quiet_ when they watched, but they watched."

Nara was amazed. The inhabitants of Astralis IV, a small colony world in the middle rim, was a world that was not in the Republic, mostly because they refused to accept 'secular non-religious' rule. The priesthood that ruled Astralis IV did so with an iron fist, trying to maintain the religious purity of the world. Theoretically, the residents of the world were simply waiting for their god to come and take them into the afterlife as their religious text had promised. But in Nara's estimation, if this deity was a real thing, making his believers wait several thousand years before returning was bordering on cruel and unusual punishment.

"I'm surprised they let anyone perform there at all."

Ezah's mouth quirked, "I wasn't meant to. I ran this contest for my fans and whoever won would get a free concert for them and their friends, and I would come to their planet to do so. So this young woman from Astralis IV won the random draw. I offered to bring her and her family to Coruscant to see one of my performances there, but they wanted a concert on their planet as promised."

"And the priesthood let you?"

"Well…lets just say I didn't announce that I was performing beforehand. I did a small acapella performance in a local gymnasium. Not sure how the priests found out. Someone must have ratted me out. As soon as I was done the performance, I was told to leave, politely told to leave mind you, but the implication was leave now or face jail time."

"That seems like a huge risk you took."

Ezah shrugged casually. "I'm a performer. I went there to perform. It's that simple."

"So that's your plan for tonight? Go out there and assume everything will work out?" Nara applauded Ezah's bravery and her commitment to her task, but it seem like she was intent on walking into danger, just because it had worked out for her in the past. Not exactly smart.

"Well, as long as the security guards are out front, scanning people for weapons and the security guards at the front of the stage do their job, and the laser shield that protects me doesn't inexplicably fail, I think I'll be fine. Oh, and I'll also have two Jedi to protect me." Ezah grinned confidently, "What's the worst that could happen?"

The bad feeling currently occupying the pit of Nara's stomach seemed to grow larger after Ezah's spiel, "What indeed could go wrong," she muttered. Besides everything.

In Nara's estimation, when things could go wrong, they usually did. Ezah's concert proved to be the exception to rule.

Though the concert was late, Hatara managed to cajole, bribe and threaten enough workers to get the auditorium into working order, and eventually everything was ready for Ezah's concert. Nara was granted a spot right beside the stage where Ezah was performing, in good position to intervene should someone decide to rush the stage. Instead, her good position just gave her a great vantage point to watch Ezah's concert.

There was a bit of drama near the end of the concert, however. When Ezah announced that her next song would be 'Jedi Boy' a small, but loud section of the audience tried to disrupt her performance by making noise of their own. But Ezah, using the fact that her voice was amplified by the speakers on stage, simply just continued to sing the song as usual. And then after it was done, she requested that the crowd sing along with her as she sung 'Jedi Boy' again. With the other 95% of the crowd behind her, the sounds of 'Jedi Boy' drowned out the loud protest.

In Nara's estimation, it was the best concert she'd ever been to.

It was also the only concert she'd ever been to. Not much competition.

Nara watched Ezah take her final curtain call from the crowd after doing an acapella, sing along version of 'Jedi Boy' in obvious defiance of those that were still trying to shout her down. No one took a shot at her. No one rushed the stage with a home made knife. She just sang her sung, waved the the crowd and walked off stage one last time. Still, Nara sensed that the danger had not passed. The Force was telling her that whatever danger was going to present itself to Ezah Reisel tonight, it had not happened yet.

Nara walked back to Ezah's room, keeping just ahead of the Twi'lek, cautious as to any potential danger. But nothing happened. No one jumped out of an electrical closet and tried to stab Ezah. No one did anything more than congratulate her on putting on a good show and ask to take a picture with them. Maybe the Force was just...wrong? Or maybe whoever had decided that they wanted to attack Ezah had decided not to. Either way, it was looking like this whole night had been something of a waste.

Nara made it to the door to Ezah's room first. When Ezah was close enough, Nara bowed her head slightly, "Good show, Ms. Reisel. I'd open your door for you, but I don't know the code."

Ezah, her skin shining with the sweat she had worked up by putting on her performance, smiled, "What, they don't teach Jedi to pick locks?"

"They do. It's just generally considered to be impolite to do so right in front of the person you are ostensibly protecting."

"Ah. I see." Ezah stopped in front of the keypad, and Nara averted her eyes so she wouldn't be looking at the keypad when Ezah was entering the code. The door whooshed open, and Nara caught Ezah smirking at her, "You're so much like Sascha. It amuses me just to see how much the two of you are alike."

Nara stepped inside the room and watched the door close behind her, "I don't think of myself as very much like Sascha."

"Maybe I see you as similar because you are both Jedi," Ezah allowed. "Anyway, I find it amusing to see you being much different than the person Sascha has described to me on many different occasions."

"Sascha talks about me?" she asked, totally surprised.

"Aren't the two of you close friends? That's the way Sascha describes you."

"I mean...yeah, I'm just surprised that Sascha talks about me at all."

Nara started listening to Ezah's response, when the sensation of danger grew stronger in her mind. She had been sensing danger ever since stepping inside the auditorium, but now it seemed that whatever danger she had been sensing was now coming their way. Quickly, she sent a mental summons to Sascha in the Force, telling him that wherever he was, he needed to get here, and quickly.

"Ezah," she interrupted, "I need you to hide."

"Hide, why?"

"Because someone is coming."

But by the time that Ezah had even started to look for somewhere to hide, the door was opening. Nara's hand went to her lightsaber, which was concealed in a pocket on her shirt. But when she saw what came through the door, she let her hand fall back to her hip empty handed.

First into the room was Hatara. Her eyes were wide with fear, her clothes had been ripped slightly and her lip was swelling up. Behind her was a group of three beings. The one that drew Nara's eye first was the large, muscled security guard that had been guarding Nara's door. The other demanding her attention, was a well-muscled female human with her blonde hair in a wild buzzcut. The most important fact about her was that she currently had a knife pressing against Hatara's throat. The the third person was yet another human, this one was fairly average looking, he looked like his day job might have been as an accountant. The real detail that drew Nara's attention was the small, holdout blaster that he was currently holding in his hands.

Nara made a quick read of the situation. These three humans had obviously taken Hatara hostage, but their intended target was clearly not Ezah's manager, but Ezah herself. While she would probably have no problems defeating these three humans, even without her lightsaber, it seemed unclear if she could do so in such a way that would keep Hatara alive.

Plan: Stay as close to Ezah as possible, get lightsaber ready to protect her, wait for reinforcement from Sascha before acting.

In a single blink of an eye, Nara committed to her plan. And thus to make sure that she had maximum surprise when she needed to act, she decided that she would play scared, hopefully so that these intruders would see her as less of a threat. "Hatara!" she yelled shrilly.

The human with the blaster pointed it at her. "You. Togruta. Don't move."

Nara put her hands up, "Don't shoot, don't shoot!" She then fell to her knees and tried to make herself look as non threatening as possible. It was a galling act for a warrior such as herself. But a true warrior always knew when to strike.

In contrast, Ezah stood tall, keeping her hands where the intruders can see them "What is the meaning of this?"

The woman stepped forward, using Hatara as a human shield of sorts, "Right now. I want you and your friend here to not move. Then, we'll be having you record a little message to all your fans."

"Let me guess, a message where I say the Jedi are frauds? That they are destroying the Republic?" Ezah retorted hotly.

"We have lines prepared for you," the woman replied. "You say them, you broadcast them to your fans, put them on the holonet and everyone goes home without a scratch. Well, everyone except for your manager here. She put up a nice little fight and got rewarded justly."

Nara grit her teeth, while she hadn't necessarily warmed to Ezah's manager, no one deserved to be attacked and hurt like that. Especially when there was a Jedi in the building. Still, her experience told her that if she wanted to successfully resolve this hostage situation, she needed to be patient, and not act rashly.

"I'll start considering your offer when you let my friends go," said Ezah

The three hostage takers shared a look, "No, they'll call for help the moment we release them," said the woman, who Nara was starting to assume was their leader.

"I promise I won't," Nara wailed dramatically, "I just want to go _home_."

"Just keep quiet, Togruta," said the smaller human with the blaster, hefting it dangerously towards her.

"Okay," Nara whimpered. Mentally she was thinking about how she could possibly defeat these three intruders in a way that would prevent Hatara from being hurt. None seemed to come to her. She could use the Force to try to make sure that the knife wasn't used on Hatara or anyone else, but that would take all of her concentration and leave her easy prey for the other two hostage takers. So all she could do was wait. Fortunately, she could sense that Sascha was close by.

Ezah made an attempt to make eye contact with her, which she ignored. The Twi'lek turned her attention back to main woman, "Okay, tell me what you want me to say, and I'll do it. Please don't hurt anyone."

The woman smirked, "Raynar, give her the lines. Then set up to record. Bavais, watch the door and the Togruta. I'll keep a hold of this one," she said, adjusting her grip on Hatara.

"Right, Mischa," said the hulking former security guard, who took up a position right beside the door, and stared directly at her. She averted her gaze. So Bavais was the security guard that Ezah's insurance company had paid for? Guess whatever he was being paid by the insurance company had proved to be too little. As always, credits could be a powerful motivator.

On the plus side, she could sense that Sascha was very close. On the bad side...she wasn't quite sure how helpful he could be if the door was locked from the inside. Maybe the door wasn't locked though, she didn't remember seeing if the intruders had locked it behind them when they had entered. Only a slightly crucial detail, one that she had forgotten about. Drat.

Meanwhile Mischa and Raynar had corralled Ezah in the corner of her room. Ezah was scared out of her mind, Nara could sense, but the Twi'lek was too brave to show too much of her fear. Nara had really underestimated Ezah, she realized. She should have trusted Sascha more. He was very rarely wrong about people.

"Can I make some changes to this statement?" asked Ezah. "People will know I didn't write this."

"Lady, we get paid double if you say exactly what's on the datapad," retorted Mischa. "Just say what needs to be said and we can all get out of here, and move on with our lives. Let's make this easy, please."

"Just do what they want," she said, faking being hysterical, but trying to pass a message on to Ezah.

Mischa still had her arm wrapped around Hatara, controlling her, but her knife was no longer pointed at her throat, being too distracted by everything else that was going on. That was good. That maybe gave her a chance to intervene in keeping Hatara alive. But she still needed Sascha here to deal with the other two enemies.

Fortunately, he was almost here. She could sense him, just outside the door, awaiting instructions. She closed her eyes and concentrated, opening up her connection with Sascha in the Force. Nara couldn't give him specific instructions about what he should do, but she could convey emotions through it. She conveyed urgency, telling him to come through the door now, but also caution, because there was someone waiting for him right by the door.

"Okay," said Ezah. "I'm ready to read the statement."

Mischa smiled deviously and pointed towards Raynar, "Ready to record, Raynar?"

"Ready to record," the slender man confirmed, pointing his datapad at Ezah. Obviously his datapad had the ability to film video, which was not an unheard of capability for a datapad, but usually not a feature that came standard these days.

Ezah took a deep breath, and then all hell broke loose.

The door whooshed open, and Sascha burst through, catching the hulking Bavais with a flying kick to the midsection before he could react. Despite the strength of the hit, the large man didn't go down, instead he swung a desperate punch at Sascha which her friend easily avoided. But Nara could not pay attention to that fight any longer, her task was to keep Hatara and Ezah safe. That meant making sure that the knife currently in Mischa's right hand had to be disabled. That meant using the Force. But even the Force had limits. She couldn't simply just summon the knife from Mischa's hand, not when it was being held tightly like it was at the current moment. But she could concentrate and keep Mischa's arm immobilized.

"Everyone STOP! Or the lady gets the pointy end!" yelled Mischa

Sascha didn't listen, he dropped the hulking Bavais with a blistering headkick. The big man fell to his knees and then collapsed onto his side, dazed.

Raynar dropped the datapad and picked up his holdout blaster again and pointed it at Sascha, "Stop right there, bud."

Sascha put his hands up in a calming gesture, "Okay. I'm stopping."

"No one is going to be a hero today," said Mischa, indicating that she still had a firm grip on Hatara. "Raynar. Stun them both."

Raynar hesitated for a second and that was all that the Jedi needed. Raynar fired and missed, his blue stun bolt whizzing past Sascha as he dodged to the side. Raynar aimed and fired again, but Sascha dodged again. Then he extended his arm and used a Force push to send Raynar flying into the wall. Rynar grunted on impact and then collapsed the the ground, laying still.

Mischa, her eyes widening at what had just happened to her colleague, tightened her grip on her knife and pushed it closer to Hatara's neck. "Who are you people?"

Nara concentrated on Mischa's arm with the Force, attempting to keep it immobilized. She wasn't sure if she could control it totally, but she could probably prevent her from driving the knife into Hatara.

"Drop the knife, and this goes easier for you," said Sascha in a calm voice.

Mischa's eyes darted to her colleagues. Raynar wasn't moving. Bavais was trying to get to his knees, but judging by the lack of coordination in his movements, the big man wasn't going to be a factor for the next little while. Sascha might have been the smaller man in the fight, but, as she knew from experience, he hit damn hard when he wanted to.

"Everyone, stay still. _I'm_ in control here," said Mischa, a note of desperation entering her voice.

"You're in control," agreed Sascha, keeping his voice calm. "Just think about how this ends."

"It ends with me getting out of here," said Mascha, her eyes darting wildly between her and Sascha. Unfortunately for Mischa, she seemed to have forgotten the other person in the room.

Ezah, who had snuck up from behind Mischa, socked the human with an imperfect, but solid punch to the jaw. That was all the opening that the Jedi needed. With Nara continuing to use the Force to keep her knife arm immobilized, and her other arm being used to keep a hold of Hatara, she was a sitting duck for Sascha, who dashed to Mischa, hitting her with a left hook to the stomach and then a right cross that dropped her to the ground, moaning incoherently.

Ezah, showing good instincts, picked up the blaster that Raynar had dropped and used the stun setting on the blaster to keep the three intruders down for a while.

Amazingly, it was all over.

"Everyone okay?" asked Sascha.

"I think I'm in shock," mumbled Hatara, who stumbled forward and into a gentle embrace from Ezah, who ran a hand gently through her hair in a comforting manner.

"I'm okay," said Ezah.

Sascha nodded and picked up Hatara, "Let's get out of here. Nara, lead the way."

"Happy to take point," said Nara.

"What about the attackers?" asked Ezah.

"I called the police as I ran here. They are on their way, but I don't want to be there when they arrive. Our cover is valuable," replied Sascha.

"Let's just get out of here while we can," said Nara. "Details later."

"Let's follow the Jedi," suggested Hatara.

"Good idea," said Ezah. "We have an airspeeder out back that is for me. We can take it to my hotel."

"Good, let's get out of here," said Nara.


	11. Chapter 11: Taking Stock

**LordDarthYoda** \- Hah, I was trying to remember why that name was familiar. I remember Raynar Thul from the Young Jedi Knights series - bit of an idiot but I always liked his character. Always looking for conspiracy theories...I love it. I can totally see your logic as well.

 **Lime-lensed Lord** \- Love the username! Thanks for your comment - I actually wrote Ezah completely differently in my head, then when I started writing the chapter, this other part of Ezah just...came out. I like it, so I stuck with it.

 **Nuada Silverhand** \- I do love my violence, but this story might have things resolved peacefully. But there will be plenty of conflict, of that you can have no doubt :).  


 **SpeechBubbleMe-** Hey you! Get back to writing your story! I near moar updates :). Thanks for the review - always appreciated, even if 'late.' This chapter did really show Nara's maturity - usually she's the one that is talking big and putting a target on her back, this time, she acted meek until it was time to strike.

A/N - Bit of a recovery chapter before we get into the next stage of the mission. I'm editing this chapter with a massive headache, so apologies for any mistakes.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Taking Stock  
**

The two Jedi were able to get Ezah and Hatara back to their hotel without further incident, thankfully . He and Nara stayed the night at their hotel, keeping guard, just to ensure that there were no further attacks. While Nara seemed to have been pleased by the fact that they had interceded in what had happened to Ezah, he was more disturbed by the implication of such a brazen attack. Someone had wanted to get Ezah to record an anti-Jedi message, and was willing to go to some rather extreme ends to do so. What could possibly be motivating these people? Disagreeing with the role of the Jedi was one thing, attacking people that were tangentially related to the Jedi was another.

There was still a lot to decode about last night. More than ever, he felt like they needed a plan to tackle this problem. But for now, their concern was Ezah.

In the morning, he and Nara dropped Ezah off at the spaceport, where Ezah and Hatara were leaving on what Ezah promised would be a long, relaxing vacation. Hatara had wanted to file a police report before they left, but he and Nara had talked her out of it. The truth was, it was better for everyone if there was no media coverage about Ezah and Hatara being attacked in Ezah's dressing room. Anti-Jedi sentiment was not in the mainstream as of yet. But if the media started reporting on it, it might get that way.

But that didn't mean that he was done with the people that had taken Hatara hostage. Not by a long shot. However, that could come later, right now both Padawans needed to sleep, so they returned to their apartment after the spaceport.

"Who wants to sleep on the couch?" he asked as he tossed his keycard on to the table.

Nara shook her head tiredly, "Absolutely not. That couch kills my back. I'm sleeping in the bed. I ask that you to join me in it."

Sascha opened his mouth to argue, but the only thing that came out was a gigantic yawn, "I'll take the..."

Nara rolled her eyes at him, "If you say 'couch,' I might smack you."

"I was going to say left side of the bed," he concluded.

Nara nodded, "Good choice, Sascha. Let's enjoy a good night's sleep together."

"I think my Master's head might explode if she heard you say that," Sascha laughed.

"Climb into bed with me, Sascha Whitestar," laughed Nara.

Sascha held his hands out, "Let's not make too much light of this situation. It'll be a more amusing joke in the morning when nothing happens."

* * *

In the morning, Sascha woke up before Nara did, which was what usually happened. Togruta, like most other predators of similar size, tended to sleep for longer periods of time than omnivores like humans did. Sascha listened to Nara gently snoring for a few moments before slipping out of bed quietly. He managed to get out of the room without waking Nara, but he didn't manage to grab all of his clothes as he did, so he had to wander around the apartment in a loose shirt and shorts, the clothes he had slept in. Being the good person he was, he started making breakfast for both he and Nara, using the small grill in the kitchen to start cooking up some meat alongside some eggs that he had purchased a few days ago.

The meat was almost ready for consumption when Nara padded into the kitchen, taking long, exaggerated sniffs of the air, "Sascha Whitestar, you missed your true calling...being the perfect boyfriend for some lucky lady."

Sascha tested the meat strips that he had been grilling, they needed about another minute to be perfect. Which was great as he needed to cut the tubers and other assorted vegetables that were to go with the meal. He wasn't sure if Nara would be interested in adding non-meats to her meal, but he made enough that she could make that choice for herself. "I very much doubt that the dating pool of eligible females is missing out on me."

"Aw, come on Sascha," said Nara punching him lightly on the shoulder, "You'd be a catch. Sure, you're a bit of a typical nice guy, but you cook, you clean, you're not afraid to cry, these are all pluses."

Sascha turned to face Nara, a wicked grin on his face, "You're just trying to make sure I give you the bigger portion of the meal, aren't you?"

Nara smiled coquettishly, "No, I'd _never_ do such a thing. I'm all about equality. But I must point out that my dietary needs are fairly different from human standards."

He rolled his eyes, "How about you take what you want and leave the rest for me. I trust you'll allocate resources in an appropriate fashion."

Nara grinned widely and took a plate out of the cupboard, "I shall be as fair and just as Master Yoda."

"Uh, huh."

After letting Nara decide on the portions, the two Jedi ate at the small table in the living room. As he had expected, Nara had 'liberated' a fair share of the meat for her own plate, but she had taken a share of the tubers as well. While it might not have been a totally fair split of the meal, it was reasonable enough. Nara, though she liked to play around, was still his friend, first and foremost.

"Thanks for making breakfast, Sascha."

"Thanks for not cuddling with me in bed last night," he replied.

"Didn't even occur to me," Nara said lightly. "But what's the plan for today? It's a day off so there is no school. We still haven't really talked about last night..."

"...We talk after we eat breakfast," he said, pouring himself some juice.

Nara rolled her eyes, "Right, your silly tradition about not talking over breakfast. Your Master isn't here you know."

Sascha shrugged, and started eating his meal, letting his silence speak for itself.

"Can I make a point that I hate your stupid silence time," said Nara, half-seriously. "Of course I can, because you can't speak to interrupt me." However, Nara was torn between her desire to taunt him and her desire to eat and her desire to eat was always going to win that battle. So the two Jedi ate their meal in silence. Nara finished her breakfast first, and waited impatiently for him to finish as well, drumming her fingers on the kitchen table in an attempt to annoy him or keep herself sane, he couldn't tell which. "Okay, Sascha, come on, I know that this is a day off, but we have a lot of work to get done."

Sascha used a napkin to clean his hands of the grease from the meat strips, "I have a plan, if you'd like to hear it."

"Let's hear it ."

"I think we should speak to the head of the police on Estimar, he was the person that requested that the Jedi Order look into this issue. So, for one, he's someone safe to talk to, and for another point, we need to find out what happened to those people that attacked Ezah yesterday.

Nara's eyes narrowed, "It's a decent idea, but how do we contact this person – I assume that the head of police for the entire planet is probably a very busy man. They probably won't take any calls from a random student from Apren Polytechnic."

"True, we'll have to call him using our real names and identities."

Nara bit her lip gently, "I'm not thrilled with the idea of letting anyone know that we are undercover here. Someone reveals that information to the wrong person and presto, our cover is totally gone. All that work, gone."

"I think the head of police knows how to protect undercover assets, Nara."

The Togruta hesitated, but nodded, "That's probably true. It still leaves the question of how we contact him, I assume he either has a secretary or virtual assistant that screens his calls."

"Don't worry, he'll never turn down a call from the Jedi Temple."

"You're going to route the call through the Jedi Temple? Do you have any idea how expensive that is?"

"It's not cheap," he admitted, "But we have the funds for this mission, we might as well put them to good use." Routeing a Holonet call through the Jedi Temple wasn't exactly easy either, but he had done it before, and he had remembered all the steps he would need to do it again.

"Okay. We are going to do the call together?"

"Of course, I couldn't do it without my charming Togruta companion," he said dryly.

"You are trying to joke, but I know you mean it," said Nara, getting up from the table and grabbing her plate. "You made breakfast, I'll clean up."

Sascha handed her his plate and cutlery, "Thanks, but we could let the cleaning droid do it."

"I could, but I'm not that lazy," Nara said, as she went back to the kitchen, "Get everything ready for the call and I'll probably be about done cleaning up."

Serendipitously, that was how it ended up working out. He had just about gotten everything set up on his datapad when Nara sauntered back into the living room, now fully dressed in her new 'civilian' clothes. Despite repeated washings, Nara's clothes looked basically the same as they day they had been bought, a testament to the quality of the clothes. "You ready?" she asked.

"Just about."

"Okay, once you get it set up, you need to go get changed – you might even think about putting on your robe, just to look more 'Jedi' like."

"You don't have your robe on," he pointed out.

"I'm a girl. Girls get to look stylish."

"That's a double standard."

"So it is. You going to undo five thousand years of galactic norms and mores? Or are you going to get changed?"

Sascha went and got changed into his Jedi robe.

When he returned, Nara was on the couch, her hands on her hips in an exaggerated gesture, "You know, its not fun to argue with you when you let me win."

"I don't _let_ you win anything, Togruta," he said, giving her a friendly shove as he sat next to her on the couch. "Lets get this over with. United front?"

Nara nodded, "United front."

What Sascha had made reference to was a tactic that Jedi often used when dealing with members of the public. Sometimes, to combat the infallible reputation of the Jedi, instead of presenting a united front, two Jedi would bicker, briefly over something inconsequential, to show more of a 'human' side to the Jedi. But in dealing with someone like the police chief of an entire planet, Sascha thought it made more sense to play it straightforward.

Sascha reminded himself of the name of the Chief of Police Services on Estimar, Mathia Westrog. According to his research, Mathia was around sixty years old and had spent the entirety of his adult life working as a police officer on Estimar and was considered to be a reliable public servant, having conducted his career without controversy.

Sascha made the call, and Mathia picked up after a few moments. On his datapad he saw Mathia, who looked just like he had in the photos he had seen, an unremarkable looking sixty year old that was in good shape for his age. His dark hair was thinning slightly, but Mathia's brown eyes showed intelligence...and a bit of confusion. "Mathia Westrog speaking," he said in a guarded tone.

"Mr. Westrog, sir. My name is Sascha Whitestar and with me is Nara Nalto. We're calling you regarding the request you made of the Jedi Order several standard weeks ago."

Mathia's expression didn't change that much, but Sascha could tell that the man was surprised, "I did make a request of the Jedi Temple. But as you said, that was several weeks ago."

"Mr. Westrog," said Nara, "We've been monitoring the situation on the planet for a little while and we wanted to speak to you in person."

"You _are_ speaking to me in person. And my display says that this call is coming from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant."

"A little misdirection," he said. "You wouldn't have answered the call if I had called from my number on Estimar, I imagine."

Mathia absorbed that point, nodding, "Fair point. Very well, what do you want from me?"

"As I said, we want to meet."

"Why?"

Sascha glanced at Nara, "We need your advice."

* * *

"Are you sure it was a good idea to tell him we have no idea what we are doing," asked Nara, as she exited from the hovercab they had rented.

Sascha handed the driver his credits, giving him a good tip before stepping out of the other side of the hovercab, "Well, it's the truth, isn't it?"

"I mean we have some idea what we are doing," said Nara, taking out her datapad to make sure that the Padawans were going to the right house. In this suburban area of Estimar, the houses were large, with sprawling yards out front. And large, sprawling yards out back. This was the section of the city where everyone had wealth, and everyone owned land.

Nara pointed towards a nearby house that was painted white and blue, "That's the one."

The two Jedi walked up to the front door and rang the chime. A household protocol droid answered the door, glittering in silver. The protocol droid greeted them and then led them through the house. As they walked, the protocol droid pointed out the various awards and medals that Mathia had collected over his career, along with the pieces of artwork he had collected. Marthias had an eclectic art collection, mostly paintings from highly regarded artists that were still living. It was an odd that a chief of police was such a collector of artwork, it wasn't exactly what Sascha had been expecting.

Finally, the Padawans found Mathias sitting on the back porch, staring out into his yard where some small birds were flitting around what looked like some sort of feeder. "Master, your guests have arrived," said the protocol droid.

Mathias rose from his seat with the fluidity of a much younger man and greeted the two Jedi, "Welcome to my humble home. C2P-0, leave us please. Privacy setting, I'm unavailable for the thirty minutes."

"As you wish, Master," said the protocol droid as the silver droid went back inside.

Mathias waved to the two seats that had obviously been prepared for them, "Can I get you anything? A drink? I have Recalich juice from Naboo and ales from Corelia if you'd like one."

"We're fine for now," said Nara politely.

"Thank you for meeting us on such short notice," he said, taking one of the seats that was offered. Nara and Mathias settled into the other chairs. It was a really nice day outside, it had to be said, and Sascha was glad that he was able to enjoy it, at least slightly. The sky was blue with only a few clouds obscuring Estimar's sun, and the temperature, while a bit cool, was still comfortable.

Mathias paused for a moment before answering, "You are welcome, but may I ask a few questions to confirm your identities?" The police chief smiled slightly, "I checked the Jedipedia after you called, and I have to say that you are either really Sascha Whitestar and Nara Nalto or you have access to so very talented makeup artists."

"I don't think you could fake my facial markings, but we'd be happy to confirm our identities," said Nara calmly.

"Okay. Master Whitestar, your Master is...?"

"Aurine Brynar."

"And her Master was...?"

"Nova Trynith."

Mathias nodded and turned his attention to Nara, "Master Nalto, same questions."

"Tiplee, and Galium Rwar."

Mathias bowed his head and brought his hands together, in a polite gesture, "Master Jedi."

"Please don't call us that. Calling us by our names is fine," said Nara.

"Very well," said Mathias, holding his hands out, palms up, "How can I help you?"

Nara glanced at him, indicating that he should take the lead in this conversation, which he was more than happy to do. "First, we wanted to talk to you about some arrests that were made last night at the Auditorium in Apren. Three people were arrested, I believe."

Mathias frowned, "There was an odd report from the Auditorium, and a number of people were arrested on anonymous tip. I can't tell you the exact number, but they are being held for 24 hours as per our laws."

"And after the 24 hours expires?"

"If no charges are brought, then they'll be released," Mathias replied.

"And what if I wanted to bring charges?"

Mathias hesitated, "I'd have to look it up, but I don't believe that Jedi are traditionally allowed to bring charges. They are considered to be officers of the Republic, and are thus except from some traditional protections."

"The state can bring proceedings on their behalf though," said Nara.

Mathias smiled, "True. To do that, you'd have to tell an officer of Estimar about what happened."

"Such as yourself."

"Indeed."

"Well, we'll leave the choice of bringing charges to you, but we can tell you what happened there last night," said Nara. The Togruta then briefly outlined the events of the night before, doing so calmly an impassive manner.

After she was done, Mathias leaned back in his seat. "That's a disturbing tale. Had you Jedi not been there, that situation could have turned out much differently."

"But we were," said Sascha. "And it only has encapsulated how strong the anti-Jedi sentiment at this particular University. I don't believe that these were students that attacked Ms. Reisel. So that means that these attackers were either inspired by them, or they were paid by them. Both options are very dangerous."

"I agree," said Mathias. "I will see what I can do about keeping these attackers detained and making sure that they are interrogated appropriately."

"Thank you, sir," said Sascha.

"How else can I help you?"

"Well," Sascha paused intentionally, "We kind of need advice. We're investigating these anti-Jedi people, but I think it's become clear to both me and Nara that we don't see an end goal to this. We aren't and shouldn't be in the business of curtailing free speech. If people believe that the Jedi are killing the Republic, they should be free to do so. If they want to protest the Jedi Order, they have the right to do that as well. I...just...I don't know what we are doing here? I think we are both struggling to know what our goals should be." He stared directly into the eyes of Mathias, "What did you want from the Jedi Order, when you asked us to intervene?"

Mathias took a sip of his drink before responding, "Honestly, looking back, I'm not sure what I wanted. I thought that the Jedi should know that there was this group of...radical thinkers that were taking the next step from 'thoughtful students' to 'potential threat.' I thought that the Jedi needed to know about this, and maybe confront these people and prevent the spread of such thoughts to other cities, other planets." Mathias eyed the two Jedi carefully, "I also thought that they would send someone...older to help deal with this."

"We were assigned this mission so that we could go undercover here on Estimar," he said. It is also my opinion that we are being tested, intentionally, on this mission. That thought had been one that had been on his mind for a while, and its the first time he's spoken it out loud. It makes sense though. What better way to test two young Padawans by giving them a mission that was full of moral complexities?

"Every day is a test," said Mathias. "But you don't always know what is being tested."

"We have similar saying in the Temple," remarked Nara with a smile. "I hated those sayings."

"It's a little vague for me as well," said Mathias. "But life is vague. And full of choices that aren't always clear."

Sascha tapped two fingers against his hand in a drumming motion. While Mathias was being open and inviting, he wasn't exactly providing them with the answers they were seeking.

"Can I tell you the moment when I decided to report what was happening to the Jedi Temple?" asked Mathias. "And are you sure I can't get you a drink? I feel like a terrible host with me drinking and my guests having nothing."

"That's quite all right, Mathias. We ate before we came," he said. "Please, tell us your story."

Mathias folded his hands together, "This was a few months ago, at the end of the school year. We get stories of different group that take root at our various universities. Anarchists. Religious groups. Extremists of various degrees. They all tend to be mostly harmless. So when I heard about this anti-Jedi group, I didn't think much of it. A minor annoyance at best. Then the reports came in. Students that attended Jedi History classes were being harassed. Anyone who expressed an opinion that was mildly pro-Jedi was attacked on their social media pages. It graduated beyond people expressing their opinions forcefully, as they are allowed to do, and moved into something worse. So we investigated this group and we arrested the person behind these actions, Quetziel Roa. We tried to prosecute him, but our evidence was so circumstantial that we had to settle for a short sentence and community service."

"I'm guessing that community service didn't change his mind," said Nara.

"No, sadly. Though our justice system has a good record of rehabilitating people, Quetziel Roa was not one of them. It just made him more determined not to make the same mistakes again. When we started hearing reports of these anti-Jedi people again, that's when I knew that we needed something else. So I made a request of the Jedi Order to come and investigate. I never thought that someone would actually _come_ though."

"Wait, what was the last name of this again?" he asked.

"Roa. Spelled R-O-A."

"Was he from Corelia by any chance?" he asked.

Mathias frowned, "I believe that he was originally from Corelia."

Sascha had a sinking feeling. "Do you have a picture of him?" he asked Mathias.

"I...don't, not right now. I could find one, if I needed to. Why?"

"Because one of my clanmates growing up was Doro Roa from Corelia. Nara knows him. He's a good friend of mine. I'll have to look it up to see if Doro had a brother that is the correct age. It would explain why Quetziel is so stringently against the Jedi Order. We took his brother away from him."

" _If_ it's him," said Nara, clearly cautioning from making a leap of logic. But he had already started to see how it could make everything fit together – how finally they had a potential answer of _why_ there was anti-Jedi sentiment on Estimar. Sascha needed to file that away for now, though. He'd investigate who Quetziel Roa was later, he still had questions he wanted to ask Mathias.

"Still, despite who might be behind this, I still want to talk about getting a good result for everyone on Estimar," he said. "I don't...I can't arrest people for expressing their opinion about the Jedi. But we can't let things go the way they are either."

Mathias got off of his chair and patted each Jedi on the shoulder in turn. "I don't envy you Jedi. Me, as a police officer, all we have to do is enforce the rules. Someone breaks the law, we investigate it, and we follow the laws that have been written by others. A simple task at the end of the day. What you've been given is a much different job. At the core of it, what you want to do is change the hearts and minds of these people that are with these anti-Jedi people. And that's not an easy thing." Mathias started to pace, "It is only my opinion, but I think it's a common one. I feel that the Jedi are too aloof, too detached from the world. More obsessed with the Force then helping the common man. And I admit that view was reinforced when I thought that the Jedi had ignored my call for help. And now I have two very thoughtful young people conversing with me and it looks like my opinion of the Jedi might change again. Opinions can be changed, but you have to put yourselves out there to do it. Otherwise those opinions will never change."

"Stating the obvious, Mathias," said Nara, pointing at him and then back to herself, "Us two Padawans can't change how the Jedi are perceived across the Republic."

"No," admitted Mathias, "That is impossible. But to first understand these people, you have admit that some of their grievances are legitimate."

"We do," said Sascha. "But you can't have a legitimate dialog with people that have mind made up."

Mathias turned to face them, "It sounds like someone has their minds made up."

He winced, realizing that he had laid his assumptions bare in front of this stranger. "I admit that I'm not unbiased."

"That's good," said Mathias. "That's being mature."

"Jedi tend to be very mature," Nara said dryly.

"I can see that." Mathias smiled to himself, "I glanced at the accomplishments attributed to you in your Jedipedia pages. You make an old timer like me feel inadequate."

"We don't get to choose our lives. All we can do is choose to use them as well as we can."

Mathias nodded, "That's a good philosophy. Anyway. You've asked for my opinion on what you should do. I would advise this. Anti-Jedi sentiment has flourished because the Jedi are seen as being absent. It's easy to say that the Jedi Order don't care about the common folk, if the common folk never see a Jedi. That might be something worth correcting."

Sascha shared a glance with Nara. It was a decent idea, but it was just an idea with any specifics behind it. Still, he got the logic. It was easy to argue against an idea. It was harder to argue against a real life person that represented that idea. "We'll take it under advisement," he said.

"That's all I can ask," said Mathias. "Now unless there is anything else I can help you with, I do have paperwork to get done."

The Padawans stood at what was obviously a polite dismissal. Both Jedi bowed in unison, "Thank you for your time, sir." said Nara.

Mathias returned the bow, "Please contact me if I can be of assistance. I'll be personally looking into the three people that were arrested at the auditorium last night. I'll send you any information I can find."

"And we'll be looking into this Quetziel Roa," said Sascha. My gut tells me that he is involved in this."

"I suspect that he has a hand in this as well," admitted Mathias. "Be safe, and may the Force be with you."

Both Jedi bowed slightly once more before taking their exit.

As Sascha looked out the window on the air taxi ride back to their apartment, he tried to think through the conversation they had just hand. Maybe Mathias was right, maybe the core of this wasn't just one person like Quetziel Roa, but a long harbored sentiment that was growing because the Jedi were being complacent.

Nara nudged him, startling out of his thoughts. "Look at this." Nara handed him her datapad. On it was a message from Zven - 'Big meeting in two days. Hope you can be there. Free thinkers like you always welcome.'

"What should I say?" asked Nara. "I'm thinking that I should go."

"I agree," said Sascha. But there was the seeds of a plan growing in his mind as well. It was just an idea, but maybe if he and Nara could pull it off, they could diffuse this whole situation...


	12. Chapter 12: Not Ourselves

**Lime-lensed Lord** \- I do write many of those ;).

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** You have updated. I am pleased :). Sascha is a very good fake boyfriend - I originally had them having a lot more fun in these 'fake' roles, but it was hard to fit it in without it taking away from the story.

A/N - Nothing from me!

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Not Ourselves**

Nara Nalto thought that the classes in the Jedi Temple were often very boring. But in comparison, her class on advanced combinatorics at Apren Polytechnic was downright sleep inducing. It didn't help that she had already mastered almost all of these concepts when she was 12. It also didn't help that the lecturer, a Givin, was trying to make the mathematical concepts approachable to those without a strong background in mathematics. Not exactly enthralling stuff.

So, as usual, she tried to occupy her brain with thoughts of boys. But even that wasn't really working today. Every time she tried to think about one of her various crushes, she could hardly even hold the thought of them in her head before they dissipated. Sighing, she started flipping through the applications on her datapad. She had a couple of games on there that could probably keep her occupied until the end of class, and she was deciding between which one she was going to choose.

She had almost booted one up when a message from Zven Hitplik showed up on her datapad. Zven had been silent since yesterday, when she had replied to his message, saying that she would show up to his 'big event.' But now he was messaging her again. That was good. While Sascha felt that their big break had been learning about Quetziel Roa, she still felt that Zven was going to be the person that allowed her to infiltrate deep into this conspiracy. Looking up how Quetziel was involved in this was going to be Sascha's job. Hers was to get close and stay close to Zven.

After sharing some short, polite, messages, Zven asked if she was free for lunch, and she replied that she was free after her class ended. Smiling at her progress, she closed her datapad and tried to pay attention to the lecture again. She managed to pay attention for a few more minutes before her mind started to drift again. This time, it was at least focused on the task at hand. She wondered about how she could play Zven so that he would start to trust her. She'd already played hard to get, so that was probably not a tactic that she could pursue for much longer. So she had to play the part of the eager potential zealot. It was not something she did very much. Though she could lie and put a false front as well as anyone, faking that sort of enthusiasm was difficult for her.

"But what choice do I have," she muttered under her breath.

She sent Sascha a quick message, telling him that she wouldn't be coming home immediately after class and that she'd be meeting Sven. Sascha replied with a quick message, wishing her good luck and reminding him that he had class coming up, so he would around campus if she needed him. She didn't expect that she would.

Mercifully, the class ended soon afterwards and Nara made her way through campus to the restaurant where she had met Zven before. She looked around the front of the restaurant and didn't see Zven hanging around, so she went inside. She spotted the Zabrak in a booth about at the midway point of the restaurant, but Nara paused when she saw that there was someone else sitting with him. She couldn't get a good look at the other person in the booth, but judging from the long brown hair that she could see, she was better the person across from Zven was a human female, or at least a humanoid that featured hair.

Her first guess turned out to be correct. Across from Zven was a severe looking woman with brown hair that was tied in a austere braid. Not exactly good looking, she still had a striking look to her, with sharp features, an angular nose and piercing blue eyes. Nara instantly nicknamed her 'The Hawk.'

She forced a cheerful wave and tried to seem happy to be there instead of vaguely terrified, "Hi Zven. Am I here early?"

Zven smiled thinly, "Actually you've arrived just in time. Nara Nalto, meet Jas Garthi. Jas, meet Nara Nalto."

Jas gave her a look she could only describe as 'slightly unbridled hostility.' "Charmed," the human gritted out.

Zven noted the less than welcoming greeting, "Come on, Jas, play nice. Nara's one of the good ones."

"We'll see about that," Jas said flippantly. "Stupid 1st year students are all the same, Zven. I keep telling you this."

Zven's tone suddenly became lower, and harsher, "And I keep telling you that unless we recruit new people, we'll never grow."

Jas looked her over and snorted derisively, "If you say we are stuck with her, than we are stuck with her. Come on little Togruta, sit beside me."

Nara took her seat in the booth across from Zven. It was a good position, because if something went horribly wrong, it wouldn't be that difficult to escape from. "Anyone order food? I'd be happy to chip in some credits towards lunch."

Zven smiled kindly, "We already ordered food, thank you. I got you what you had last time."

Nara was slightly taken aback but forced a smile, "Thanks."

Jas withdrew a small black device that was a few centimeters wide and about double that in height. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's a device that disables recording devices that might be listening in," replied Jas caustically.

"Good joke. What is it really?"

Jas snatched the device off the table, "This girl is the best you could find? She's dumber than a brain damaged Wampa, Zven."

Nara made a split-second decision and decided to stand up for herself. She'd rather be seen as too aggressive rather than too meek. Besides, she _was_ a 'little Togruta' as Jas had reminded her. Nara reached out and grabbed a hold of the collar of Jas' shirt, "You have a problem with me? Maybe we should go outside and settle this the Togruta way."

Jas grabbed at her forearm, but she held on, tightening her grip. Nara was wondering how far she would have to take this when Zven spoke up, "Nara. Enough."

Nara held on for a second longer and then released her grip on Jas' shirt.

Jas brushed herself off, "She's a fighter. That's good."

"We don't need fighters, Jas. I keep telling you this," said Zven patiently.

"That's not what the others think, Zven," replied Jas. "I am yet to be convinced by your approach, Zven."

Nara broke in to the conversation, "Will someone clue me in with what you guys are talking about? I feel like you guys have a special language that I'm not privy to."

Zven gestured to Jas, who reluctantly set the device in the middle of the table and pressed what was looked to her to be an essentially invisible button.

"We can talk safely now," said Zven.

"Talk safely about what?" asked Nara, still playing clueless but knowing exactly what Zven wanted to talk about.

"The Jedi Order. And how to rid the Republic of its infestation," said Jas drumming her fingers on the table.

"My colleague is direct," said Zven, "but correct. We believe that, much as you argued on your first day, that the Jedi Order does far more harm than good to the Republic. And we want to search for a way to get the Jedi to leave the Republic. Peacefully," said Zven, shooting a significant glance at Jas, who ignored it totally.

"What...I mean...how...I mean...Isn't that illegal?"

Zven held his arm out in a calming gesture, "Nothing we have done is illegal, Nara. Nor will we ask of you anything that could get your expelled from school. You have my word on that. But this is important work. More important than your studies."

Nara pretended to be flummoxed, but her heart was racing. Here was going to be their big break in the investigation. Clearly this group had two factions. Zven represented the peaceful side, Jas the more extremist side. All she had to do now was play along and figure out where this was going.

"Okay. How do I help? What do you want me to do?"

Jas sighed, "We need someone to help recruit people into our little organization. Only with numbers do we have strength. The problem with recruiting at a University is that after people are done their studies, they leave, often to different cities or different planets. It makes it difficult to coordinate when people are far flung across the galaxy. But the University is a great place to recruit. Young people have open minds and enthusiasm, whereas adults..." Jas trailed off.

"...have already come to their conclusions," Nara finished.

"And they have jobs and other commitments that complicate things," said Zven, picking up on her point. "The onus is thus on us to move forward with our goals. Once we get them into the mainstream, we have a real chance of making real change."

"I don't know," said Nara. "Aren't the Jedi going to put up a fight? I don't think they'll abandon the Republic easily."

"Maybe the Togruta isn't as dumb as she looks," muttered Jas.

Zven glared at Jas, who took the hint and shut her mouth and stirred her drink with a utensil. Zven returned his attention back to her, "It will not be easy and it will not be overnight. But we _can_ be the catalyst for a change, one that will help reinvigorate the Republic. You know this, Nara. That's why you got up there on that stage and proposed that debate topic, because you know that _this_ is the way to move the Republic into a new era."

Nara paused, letting her gaze drop to the table, appearing to reflect on what Zven had said, whereas in reality she was just trying to figure out the right amount of enthusiasm that she should have. She raised her eyes to meet Zven's, "Tell me how to start."

Zven smiled, "We'll start small with you. One thing I want you to start with is try to find people like you, people with open minds that could be convinced that our cause is a righteous one, is a correct one. If you've met people like that, bring them to our meeting tomorrow. I realize that this is short notice, and you have not had a lot of time at Apren Polytechnic. But if you know anyone..." Zven trailed off. "They'll be welcome."

"What is this meeting going to be about?" she asked.

Zven began to speak, but stopped when he saw that the server droid making its way to their table with their food. After the server droid deployed their food in its proper place (done with its usual silent efficiency), it wheeled away, no doubt going back to the kitchen to pick up the order for another table. "As I was going to say," said Zven, "It's just going to be an introductory meeting where we broach our ideas. Nothing more than that."

"Which is why it is a waste of time," muttered Jas.

"Our members need to be recruited from _somewhere_ , Jas," Zven replied.

Jas made a dismissive gesture and focused her attention on her food.

"It'll just be me and a few other people talking about the Jedi Order and how we feel they are holding back the Republic. Then those who are interested can join our little...club."

Nara frowned, "And you are sure that this is nothing illegal?"

Zven laughed, "Of course. We're just using our right of free assembly and freedom of speech. But we think of these rights as benign. I say otherwise. I say those are the rights that allow us to shake the foundation of the Republic."

"It can use a good shaking," Nara said.

"We'll give it one. I promise you that. Maybe we give it a nudge today. But in a few years, it will be an earthquake."

Jas grinned wickedly, and raised her glass, "To causing earthquakes."

Zven nodded and raised his glass as well, "To causing earthquakes."

Nara joined in, raising her glass to the other two and clinking softly against it, "To causing a tidal wave. Because if there is an earthquake in the right place, at the right time, they can make a tidal wave. And _that_ is what we are going to do with the Jedi Order. We are going to sweep it away"

"I'll drink to that!" declared Jas, throwing her drink down with gusto. Zven followed suit in a much more disciplined fashion. Nara drank the contents of her glass as well (it was just juice after all), and hid a little smile. A meeting where all the anti-Jedi people were going to be together? Sounds like the place where she wanted to be.

* * *

Sascha Whitestar was skipping class for the first time in his life. In fairness, if he was supposed to try to fit in with his colleagues at Apren Polytechnic, this was _probably_ the best way to do so. For whatever reason, lots of students decided that skipping classes (that they were paying thousands of credits for) was a good idea. It didn't make sense to him, but it was the way things were, apparently.

The reason he had skipped class? Quetziel Roa. He had a strong suspicion about Quetziel from the moment that his name had been mentioned. This was the sort of person that was could have been in charge of the whole anti-Jedi sentiment. All he had to do was find him.

But that was proving to be difficult. While Sascha had no trouble in pulling up all of his records through a search that was routed through the Jedi Temple, that only told him about Quetziel's actions previous to his arrest, not anything that happened to him afterwards. As far as Sascha could tell, the man had fallen off the face of the galaxy. He not no recorded job, no recorded place of address. Quetziel Roa was currently a ghost.

The obvious answer to his problem was that Quetziel had probably packed up and left the planet, never to return. One run in with the law had probably been enough for him. But...for whatever reason, Sascha didn't believe that this was the case. It wasn't the Force telling him this, no, it was good old fashioned common sense. Quetziel had roots here. Quetziel was a zealot and a zealot would not abandon his flock, not without good reason.

Sascha drummed his fingers against the table. How could he find someone who didn't want to be found?

The first part of finding someone was thinking about what he would do if he was in Quetziel's position. Sascha generally found it easy to slip into the heads of many different people, he recognized that as a naturally empathetic person, it was easier for him to see what was in the hearts and minds of others. But try as he might, he couldn't fathom what Quetziel's next move might have been.

Sascha stood and started to pace in the apartment. His problem, he suspected, was that if his theory of Quetziel being his friend Doro's brother was just that, a theory. If it were true, then who knew what kind of length someone would go to get 'their' family back? It wasn't a motivation that Sascha really understood. That meant it was more than a little difficult for him to understand how his adversary might think.

That option unavailable to him, he considered what someone like Quetziel's goals might be. Whereas someone like Zven seemed to approach this issue from an intellectual position, he imagined that Quetziel might approach it from an emotional one. Zven wanted to remove the Jedi from their position of power because (for whatever reason) he felt that the Jedi were holding back the Republic. It seemed like Quetziel might be undertaking these actions just to hurt the Jedi and those that support them, like a child lashing out. A dangerous child.

So what was his next move going to be, Sascha wondered. There had to be some sort of pattern. But how could he know the pattern if he didn't know what actions Quetziel had been behind.

"I'm wasting my time," Sascha said out loud. Then he realized it was true. Whatever leads they had were going to come through Nara. And that meant that Nara was of crucial importance. Sascha picked up his keycard from the table and headed outside. If he wasn't going to be in class, he might as well be useful.

* * *

Nara played the eager new recruit as Jas and Zven detailed their long term plans for the 'Society for the Preservation of the Republic' as they called themselves. Nara suggested ways that they could recruit and influence people in more effective ways. Any technique that she suggested that landed in a moral gray area was often embraced by Jas, and then gracefully shot down by Zven. But in general, what she did was listen and take mental notes, notes of names, locations used by Zven and Jas. She got a sense that the Society for the Preservation of the Republic was not as large as Nara would have thought.

But the members they had they used well. When they showed up in public as they had outside of Ezah's concert, they showed up with their entire membership, making them seem more formidable and numerous than they were. Rather than presenting themselves as a group of outsiders, they presented themselves as mainstream thinkers. It was, Nara granted, a nice tactic. Generally speaking, people didn't want to be seen as an outsider, but rather as a part of a group of like minded people. So if people thought that it was 'cool' to dislike the Jedi, people might find themselves attracted to the ideology without thinking about it much.

She was feeling pretty good about herself and what she had managed to accomplish when she picked up the strong sense in the Force that Sascha was nearby. Huh? Why would he be here? Momentarily distracted, she missed the flow of the conversation, "Sorry guys, I missed that last part, can you repeat it?"

Zven waved her lapse in concentration away, "It was nothing. I do want to ask you one thing, though. Your...significant other...do you think he will approve of all this?"

"Who, Sascha?" Nara said, feigning being surprised.

"If that's the name of the guy you are living with...yeah," said Jas sarcastically.

"Sascha's well... I don't know how long me and him are going to last," she said, glancing away and hoping that she was doing a good job of looking embarrassed.

Luckily for her, Zven seemed equally embarrassed, "Ah, well, I didn't want to pry. These things happen, relationships fall apart. The main thing is to keep moving forward."

"You should know from experience, Zven," replied Jas. The human female nudged her, "Zven has a problem in keeping girlfriends. Not like me. Me and Emari have been going strong for three years now."

"Yes, _thank you_ for providing Nara with an update on my love life, Jas."

Jas grinned wickedly, "You are welcome, Zven."

Nara smiled, and for a moment, she forgot that these were the people that she was investigating, and would have to take actions towards. But these weren't even really _bad_ people in any sense of the word. Even in the Force, she couldn't feel any feelings of malice or hatred from either Zven nor (surprisingly) Jas. Were she and Sascha even doing the right thing?

Mentally, she gave her head a shake, reminding her of how Hatara had been kidnapped and Ezah threatened. Of the reports of cyber-bullying towards those that expressed pro-Jedi beliefs. But were Zven and this group behind those attacks? It was hard to see someone as principled as Zven stoop to such a level. Then again, she had only just 'joined' this group, they still probably had lots of secrets.

And speaking of Sascha, she could sense that he was hanging around outside the restaurant, probably acting as inauspiciously as possible. Ugh, why wasn't he in class? Was he checking up on her? The old Sascha was occasionally really patronizing towards her, and she hoped he wasn't falling back into his old ways.

"Unless there is anything else, I believe we can leave everything else to tomorrow," said Zven. "Nara, you can just attend the meeting as a member of the crowd, but after its done, come up to the stage and I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew."

Nara bowed her head graciously, "Thank you for this invite. I won't let you down."

"The Republic will thank you for your service, Miss Nalto," replied Zven, who paid the bill by tapping his paycard against table and pressing a button. Then he stood and indicated that she should do the same. The three of them stood up from the booth and went to the front entrance, where they milled about for a bit.

Jas pushed on her shoulder slightly, "Sorry for the hard time I gave you, but I knew how highly Zven thought of you, I wanted to make sure that he was right about you. He was."

Nara, despite herself, was genuinely touched, "Thanks."

"Where you headed now?" asked Zven.

"Home," said Nara. "Time to have a conversation about Sascha being 'my' Sascha," she said.

"Let 'em down easy, Nara," said Zven.

"I'll try. Bye Zven, bye Jas, I'll see you tomorrow," she said, pushing through the doors and emerging into the midday sun on Estimar. It was a nice day, though there were a few clouds that were threatening to disrupt the nice weather. Nara took a quick look around to see if she could find Sascha, but though she could feel that he was close by, he couldn't see him. At least he knew how to blend in, she thought, stewing on her annoyance. Did Sascha think that she needed his help with everything? Nara growled deep in her throat, a physical manifestation of her annoyance at the moment. She stalked off quickly, heading for the apartment.

She made it to the apartment before Sascha did. But, knowing that he was following close behind her, she simply stood in the little foyer, just outside of the door and waited for him with her arms crossed across her chest. When he entered less than a minute later, he smirked at her, "Didn't feel like waiting for me?"

"No. Close the door."

Sascha, evidently judging that he had done something wrong, quickly turned and closed the door. He tried to walk past her and into the main part of the room, but she stopped her with a hand on his chest, "Where are you going now?" she asked.

"Uh, the living room?"

Sascha's glib comment almost made her snap, but having been trained from youth not to give into anger, she just turned away and stalked into the kitchen, extremely peeved.

Sascha came into the kitchen with his hands up, looking extremely contrite, "I sense we are going to have an argument, so can we please do it in the place there aren't any knives laying around?"

Nara tried to be angry, she really did. But as usual, Sascha knew the right things to say, "I don't need knives, I'm a walking predator, Sascha," she said, smiling slightly.

He nodded, "Okay, if the predator wants to come and talk with me, I'll be sitting defenseless in the living room."

Sascha left her alone in the kitchen while she closed her eyes both to calm herself down and to formulate her arguments for the discussion she was going to have with Sascha. After doing some Jedi breathing techniques she was ready to begin.

She found Sascha sitting on the couch, nervously fidgeting. "I'm calm now," she said. She could have chosen to keep standing and have a quasi superiority in the conversation, but she grabbed a pillow that she had used for meditating and sat on it. "But I was mighty annoyed with you Sascha."

"Because I followed you?" he asked.

"Yes...and you didn't even tell me you were going to do it!"

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you," said Sascha. "I hadn't really planned on it myself," he admitted. "I was just at an impasse, I thought that I was pursuing something meaningful, when I realized that I was just wasting my time. The only thing I realized was how important you are to this mission."

"So you came to protect me?" she half-snarled.

"What? No! Well...kind of?"

"Kind of," she repeated, "How did you 'kind of' come to protect me?"

Sascha sighed, "It's just that...you are so important to this mission, I figured that it might have been a good use of my time to keep an eye on you. I knew you were meeting with Zven, so..."

"...So you didn't think I can take care of myself?"

Sascha's calm demeanor finally broke and he started punctuating his words with his hands, "Of course you can, Nara! Why in the Force would you think otherwise? I know how strong you are! I wasn't out there just to protect you, I wanted to protect the valuable information that you have. It has nothing to do with your competence. Besides, I was there looking to see if Quetziel might have been hanging around. Which of course he wasn't...or I didn't see him, the last picture on record for him is like half a year old. But I wasn't there to protect you."

"You just happened to be there."

Sascha shrugged in a self-deprecating fashion, "In a sense...yeah. I wasn't thinking about protecting Nara Nalto, Jedi Padawan. I was thinking about protecting Nara Nalto, intelligence asset."

Nara had been angry, but Sascha's relentless honesty had made her reconsider her anger. Still, she wasn't about to forgive him totally. Not yet. "You should have told me that you were coming. What if we crossed paths? You might have blown my cover."

"I considered that, and that is why I stayed out of sight," said Sascha, a bit stiffly. Then his head drooped, "You are right, I should have told you what I was doing."

"There's something else bothering you, Sascha," she said. Knowing her friend as well as she did, this was not typical Sascha behavior. Therefore, something had to be eating away at him...but she had no idea what it might be.

Sascha scratched his head, "Well...I kind of feel like this whole mission has been about you surpassing me. I'm supposed to be the one that's good at these sort of tricky, non-combat situations, but I've basically been useless, while you managed to get the best lead, I couldn't even get the comlink number of a potential ally. You're already a better fighter than I am, and stronger in the Force. If you get better at this stuff than I am...I mean, you'll be a better Jedi than I am by far, a future Jedi Master, where I'll just be...you know, Sascha Whitestar, average Jedi."

Nara took a few moments to absorb that statement from Sascha. While he had always been prone to bouts of self criticism, she wasn't quite sure why it was popping up now. "We are doing this as a team, Sascha. As usual, you give yourself no credit."

"Yeah, maybe that's true. But we can discuss that later, because I really don't want to get into it now."

Nara nodded, "Fair enough, let me fill you in on my talk with Zven." Nara briefly outlined the major points that had been brought up, and expressed that she still didn't know a lot about anything that was going to happen.

"I love surprises," Sascha deadpanned.

Nara smiled, but ignored Sascha's remark, "Do you have any idea what we might expect tomorrow? What are plan might be?"

Sascha hemmed and hawwed for a moment, "Sounds like they are putting on a rally."

"Sounds about right."

"So we should probably disrupt it."

"Following you so far," she said. "Any idea how?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could debate them," said Sascha. "The Jedi Padawans debate the anti-Jedi fanatics."

Nara laughed. Then she thought...that might be a great idea.

So much for Sascha being useless.


	13. Chapter 13: The Debate, Part One

**Lord Darth Yoda** \- Good theories as always. I tend to think in general that outside of the most famous Jedi - Yoda, Mace Windu, the council members etc, that they wouldn't know many Jedi by name. Remember even if these people were studying the Jedi, there are still 10,000 of them...that's a lot of people. No one can know everything.

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** Sascha's plan involves blowing their cover completely...so its a pretty risky plan! Nara's so much fun to write, she's a bit more fun than Sascha to write, because Sascha is kind of plaid...boring. Whereas Nara is a bit more impulsive, and reckless - and its her fighting against those urges that shows her growth as a young woman. Also Sascha/Nara banter is fun to write :).

A/N - Nothing from me! As always your reviews are appreciated :).

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The Great Jedi Debate, Part One  
**

There really wasn't much planning that could be done before the big meeting that was scheduled by the 'Society for the Preservation of the Republic', so she and Sascha just chose to...not prepare for it. What Nara had learned was that if you went in with a plan and found that things were wildly different than what you had prepared for, it often left you on the back foot. Yet if you went in with no plan, or just vague guidelines, you were mentally ready to be flexible.

And in all honesty, they didn't need to prepare when the thing they were arguing for was their very validity as Jedi. If they needed to prepare for this debate…that probably said more about them than they'd like it to.

The only real decision that they made was for Sascha not to wear his Jedi robe, just his 'civilian' clothes (she would of course wear her nice, civilian clothes.) The other decision, which was not that much of a decision, was to pack their lightsabers. She and Sascha both agreed that they were necessary, if only to potentially protect themselves. Plus, a lightsaber was always a handy way to identify a Jedi, which is something that they might need to do.

Before they left their apartment, Nara hesitated, "Are we sure we are doing the right thing? We are risking everything on this. We'll no longer be undercover, and everyone will know that we were out investigating these people."

Sascha leaned his shoulder against the wall for a moment, "It's a risk for sure. But what's the alternative? We're in murky moral waters here, and this is a way to maybe get everyone to see something that they haven't seen before. The Jedi perspective. I don't think we can go in and arrest people or hurt people for expressing their beliefs. So we need to get them to change their minds. I think that's the only way we can complete this mission."

"We're about to walk into the Gundark nest though," Nara pointed out. "These people might not be receptive to our ideas."

"I know. But if we can change the minds of 10% of the people that are attending, that would be enough. We both know why these sort of anti-Jedi people are dangerous," said Sascha, looking directly at her. "It's not that they don't have some fair points, its that if we let opinions like this fester without combating them, when we go to different worlds looking for help, people might not want to help the Jedi! We're seen as outsiders too much as it is. We need to be more open with who we are and why we act the way we do. It's one of the things I don't like about the way the current Jedi Order works."

"And you think that we can change our entire perception in one conversation?"

Sascha shrugged and smiled, "Gotta start somewhere."

"Since when are you such an optimist, Sascha?"

"Gotta start sometime."

Nara rolled her eyes, "Sometimes I think I hate you, Sascha Whitestar."

Sascha bowed mockingly, "Then I'm doing my job correctly. Diffusing the tension before a mission."

Nara laughed. Sascha was always great at making her laugh when she needed to laugh. "I think it would have been easier tracking down the bounty hunter that our Masters have been tasked to find," Nara remarked.

"From their last update it sounds they are making about as much progress as we are. Come on, let's get going Nara, we don't want to be late."

Nara tossed a mocking salute, "Yes, sir, Padawan Whitestar, sir."

"I could hit you for that."

Nara grinned, showing teeth, "But then I'd hit you right back, and I know you don't want that."

Sascha laughed easily and opened the door, "I'd say you punch like a girl…because all the girls I know punch _really_ hard."

Nara rolled her eyes, Sascha's attempts at flattery and/or comedy sometimes backfired on him.

The two friends didn't do much talking as they made their way to where the meeting was taking place, which was one of the auditoriums that were sometimes used by Apren Polytechnic, but not part of the school campus itself. Zven or whoever had just rented the auditorium for their use today. The auditorium held about eight hundred to a thousand people, so Nara expected an audience of about that number. Plus, the auditorium was set up to broadcast lectures to a local Holonet (if you had the passcode, you could watch), so Nara suspected that anyone who couldn't attend would still be able to watch.

The two Jedi blended effortlessly into the small crowd that was walking towards the uditorium. Doubtlessly, not everyone was on their way to where they were going, but Nara felt like she was swimming along with a school of fish.

Sascha leaned over, and spoke in a low tone, "You only feel that way because you are nervous."

"Get out of my head, Whitestar," she said half-seriously.

"So predictable, Togruta," he said, nudging her playfully in the ribs.

Nara walked a few steps with a smile on her face, then she quelled it. "Game time, Sascha."

Sascha nodded slightly, and his smile disappeared from his face, "Game time."

While Nara found it slightly odd to be referring to a potentially life threatening situation, as a 'game' she was always relieved to see Sascha following her instructions.

The two Jedi arrived a few minutes early and grabbed seats in the aisle in one of the middle rows. While not exactly the polite thing to do, they needed the ability to exit their seats quickly if need be. Nara let her eyes take in the entire auditorium. At the front their was a decent size stage from which to talk to, and then seats that cascaded outward from the stage. It reminded Nara almost like a cutout version of the Senate chamber, without the floating pods.

She and Sascha quietly observed the others who were walking in and taking seats. To Nara's eye the only thing that stood out to her was that a large percentage of those in attendance today were human. It wasn't that everyone here was human, it was that they were clearly over represented vis a vis the normal population of Estimar.

"A lot of humans," Nara said under her breath, careful not to let anyone overhear.

"Some humans see the Jedi Order as a problem because they see it as dominated by aliens," Sascha admitted.

"Humans can be so annoying."

"Agreed," Sascha said, flashing a lopsided smile.

"That's kind of funny, coming from you, human."

"You forget that my best friends growing up were all human. Several of them were extremely annoying," Sascha wisecracked. He did have a point though. Doro and Trigg, were often exceedingly annoying...and she had only known them as teenagers, as younglings they had probably been worse.

"You see anyone you recognize?" Sascha asked her, all business again.

Nara concentrated, racking her brain to find out if she had seen any of the beings before. A couple of them seemed familiar, but no one really stood out to her as someone that she 'knew.' "I don't see anyone overly familiar."

As the minutes passes, the auditorium grew more and more full. It's going to be a full house, Nara realized, vaguely disquieted by that this event was going to be so well attended. Though, in fairness, she too wanted a big crowd, one big enough to witness how empty an ideology that Zven and crew were presenting them and how flawed their thinking was. The only problem was...they were only going to get this one chance, and if she and Sascha couldn't present their side of the 'argument' strongly enough, well they'd be trudging back to the Jedi Temple with failure written all over their faces.

Which was something she was _desperately_ trying to avoid. Failure happened. The Jedi of the Jedi Order were fallible, everyone knew that. There were some missions that just...went wrong. She just didn't want to have that happen on the first time she was on a mission without her Master...for obvious reasons. There was no report card when you were a Jedi, but both Padawans knew that if they wanted to be Jedi Knights, that they would need to have a solid list of achievements on their record.

"Here comes the leadership," said Nara, as she spotted Zven, Jas and a few others moving to the front of the room.

Sascha gestured to one of the shorter humans that was kind of milling around the main group containing Jas and Zven, "You think that could be Quetziel?"

Nara trained her eyes on the target that Sascha had picked out. A little older than Jas and Zven, this mystery human was a little below average height, dressed in plain black and grey clothes. Possessing short black hair and a fairly athletic physique, Nara wouldn't have given him a second look except for the fact that he bore at least a minor resemblance to Doro Roa, Sascha's clanmate.

"It could be him, Sascha," she said. "I don't know how to find out though."

Sascha shook his head slightly, "Not sure it matters, but if it is him, at least we have some additional dirt we can use against him."

"Do you want to go personal?"

Her friend shrugged, "Not if we can avoid it, but this debate is winner take all, Nara. We use everything we have."

Unhappy with that answer, but understanding the logic behind it, Nara settled into her seat. She looked over and made eye contact with Zven, who nodded politely at her, but Zven frowned when he saw Sascha beside her. She shrugged sheepishly, as if to say 'sorry.'

It took a few more minutes, but the auditorium filled to near capacity. Whatever this rally or meeting was about, Zven and company were going to have a large audience. Finally, Zven stepped to the front of the stage and waited for silence to break out. It did eventually come. Nara noted how calm Zven was, how much authority that he projected, just by waiting there, waiting for silence. She knew that one of the most important things to do was to not underestimate her adversary, and she wouldn't. Zven was a highly intelligent, highly focused young man with lots of experience in public debate. She and Sascha would have to be at their best to be up to the task.

"Welcome all, my name is Zven Hitplik. Many of you know me, or the people up here with me on this stage. Some of you have come her today with friends, spouses or acquaintances." Zven smiled tightly, "And some of you might have just wandered into the wrong room and are too shy to leave." The audience tittered at the joke.

"We're here today to discuss the Jedi Order. We've been taught since we were younglings that the Jedi Order are the Guardians of the Republic. We've been taught that the Jedi are selfless monks that keep to their ways and are only here to protect and serve the citizens of the Republic." Zven let silence hang in the air.

"Which is an absolute load of bantha dung," said another voice.

Nara whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the last comment. She wasn't surprised to see that it was from the person that she and Sascha had identified as potentially to be Quetziel Roa. In comparison to Zven's air of confidence and authority, Quetziel's voice was one of barely concealed anger. Even his body language suggested contempt towards the Jedi Order. Two very different approaches. Two very different people.

Quetziel sauntered to the middle of the stage and shook hands with Zven, "My name is Quetziel Roa. As my good friend, Zven Hitplik will tell you, the Jedi Order is a cancer on the Republic, draining its resources, twisting its morals and undermining the very fabric of our democracy." Quetziel paused, "I see some of you looking at me with doubtful glances. I expected as much. You, like many others, have been brainwashed into thinking that the Jedi are true supporters of the Republic. While I hesitate to claim that the Jedi are doing their brainwashing themselves, it is clear that we have not gotten a fair an unbiased perspective from the media regarding the Jedi. So allow us to present another perspective. All we ask is that you keep an open mind."

Zven took over, speaking in a clear, academically minded tone, "Most schoolchildren could tell you about the history of the Jedi Order. They were a group of Force wielders that allied with the Republic several thousand years ago and have remained allied ever since. The Jedi Order's main rival over the years was the Sith, a group of 'dark side' Force wielders that fought many wars against the Republic and its forces. The Sith, as servants of evil tend to do, imploded about a thousand years ago and are functionally presumed to have been wiped out. There has been no widespread war in the galaxy since the climactic battle on Ruusan, where the Jedi were victorious."

"Which is a triumph, the Jedi would have you believe, a triumph that peace has broken out," said Quetziel, his voice gaining in power, in aggression. "But that logic seems faulty, doesn't it? Why are we amazed that peace follows war? Shouldn't have we been amazed that the Jedi and Sith managed to fight for thousands of years without destroying each other? Shouldn't peace be the default state of things?"

Nara felt herself wanting to launch a retort, wanting to cite the thousand of other conflicts that the Jedi had diffused, which could have interrupted that near thousand years of peace that the Jedi had watched over. Sascha, who could no doubt feel her frustration, made a little gesture with his hands, as if to say, 'let them have their say.' Nara decided that she would channel her frustration into making crisp counter arguments.

It was Zven's turn to speak again apparently, "But it's interesting when you think about it. How many years of conflict in the galaxy were just because one faction of Force users was fighting the other? The Jedi talk about how balance has been brought to the Force, that the Sith were a perversion of the Force...the bad guys if you will. But whose word do we rely upon for that? The Jedi. They write their own version of history."

Quetziel again, "And how long will it be until there is some Jedi Schism and war envelopes the galaxy again? History suggests that it can't be too long. In fact, I'd say we are probably long overdue."

Sascha rolled his eyes dramatically. She nudged him and whispered, "How long are we going to let them slander us?"

"Let them dig themselves a hole, Nara. Then we bury them in it."

"Metaphorically, you mean," she whispered back.

"I'm open to either," Sascha said with a grin.

Back to Zven again, the red Zabrak with black tattoos could have been an intimating physical presence, Nara decided, but anyone who knew anything wouldn't see him as a threat. A lack of muscle definition, especially along the forearms marked him as someone who was not a fighter. Still, his words could make him a dangerous adversary. "Despite this...whitewashing of their own history, one could easily shrug their shoulders in dismissal. Who cares, I hear some of you saying, 'history is always written by the winners.' That is true, no doubt. But one does have to wonder about the Jedi. If their entire reason for existence was to fight against the Sith...what are they doing now? Waiting for them to come back? Are they on vacation?"

"The truth is," said Quetziel, "The Jedi lust for power. They want nothing more to control the Republic through their thin veneer of being a monastic order. Tell me, if the Jedi were truly concerned about being an order of threadbare monks, why do they have their Temple in one of the most important, most expensive sections of real estate on Coruscant? Shouldn't they be off communing with the Force in somewhere a little more private? I'll tell you why they keep their main offices on Coruscant. It's only from there that they can control the Senate and the chancellor."

Sascha let out a quiet sigh, but that wasn't what drew Nara's attention. Nara noticed that throughout that...rant from Quetziel, that Zven looked somewhat pained. It was clear to her that Quetziel and Zven weren't totally on the same page. Maybe that was something they could take advantage of later.

"How do they influence the Chancellor and the Senators of the Republic?" continued Quetziel. "It's nothing as crass and illogical as mind control, no, only true conspiracy theorists can believe that. The answer is much more...insidious. See, the Jedi present themselves as the only party that is capable of being a neutral arbiter, as preposterous as that is. So when there is a crisis in the Republic, as there inevitably always is, the Jedi are called upon to find a solution. A good strategy, is it not? Except that it isn't. The Jedi are very adept at subterfuge, but they are not always adept at coming up with the best solution." Quetziel glanced around the room, "Many of you must come from planets where some Jedi played an important role in its history. Tell me, did the Jedi come to a fair compromise?"

All around them there was grumbling. Grumbling from a pair of Rodians a couple rows below them, no doubt thinking of the failed treaty of Yavin IV. To her right, a Twi'lek and a Gand were arguing, no doubt debating the highly controversial mediation that occurred on the contested planet of Ringel VI, which to this day was still debated by Jedi younglings in the Temple. In her opinion, that mediation had been badly botched by the Jedi that had been in charge, but, although the first mediation had failed, subsequent treaties had salvaged the situation.

Nara could see why Quetziel was bringing this up though, the simple fact was that history tended to forget the successful treaties. All people remembered was the failures.

"Despite the failures of the Jedi, which are too numerous to count, do we ever see any politician talking about imbuing normal diplomats with the power that we give the Jedi? No! Of course not. It's up to the _Jedi_ to solve all the problems of the Republic. We should be solving our own problems! The Jedi Order are made up of younglings that are taken from their families as infants. These are not normal people. They do not share our values, or beliefs. They don't know what its like to live our lives! How can we let them make any decisions for us, let alone our most critical decisions?"

Beside her, Sascha grimaced. If there was any plan of attack that might work against the Jedi, it was painting the Jedi as total outsiders. For better or for worse, the Jedi were seen rarely by the average citizen of the Republic, so it was pretty easy for people to paint them as out of touch elitists. And it was a hard argument to counter...because they were out of touch elitists – their ability to use the Force would always make them 'elite.'

All around them, people were nodding in agreement. The next group of additions to the anti-Jedi group were being added. And all Nara could do was wait. Fortunately, she was a predator, and was well accustomed to waiting for her prey to walk into her grasp. She just had to hope that they would.

Zven took the centre of the stage again, while Quetziel took a drink of water off to the side. "The other big concern about the Jedi Order that I know many of us have is that the Jedi are supposed to be our moral centre. Can you imagine explaining the Jedi Order to a new planet that joins the Republic?" Zven made his voice higher pitched, almost comedic, "'Oh yes, the Jedi are our best and brightest. They live in a Temple on our most populated planet. No non-Jedi is allowed inside without permission. Oh, they also have the largest repository of information in the Republic. Yeah, we aren't allowed access to that either. They are also the keepers of the kyber crystals, perhaps one of the galaxies' most superconducting materials, and yet they do not allow research on them. Oh, and one last thing, they also have the right to take any of the children that are deemed to be 'Force-sensitive. They are great though, trust me.'"

Zven paused letting his rant sink in, "These aliens would have to think we were crazy, or that our moral code was so out of whack that they'd think that we were monsters. They'd think _we_ were the bad guys." Zven shook his head slowly, "We let the Jedi get away with so much, we let them get away with perverting our laws, and for what? What do we get out of having this symbiotic relationship with the Jedi? Does anyone have an answer for me?"

"Peace," suggested one brave soul.

Zven bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, "We have peace," said Zven, "But how much of that is the work of the Jedi, and how much of its is the work of our government, our politicians, our societies? I would contend that it is not the Jedi the supply peace, but ourselves."

Quetziel took over from Zven, "We have to realize that the Jedi merely take credit for the hard work that is done by others. Why do they do this? Well, if they didn't people would start to wonder why the Jedi get all these favours from the Republic."

Again Zven grimaced slightly, but he quelled it quickly, "The Jedi Order keeps us stagnant. It undermines our democracy – by having an unelected leader like Master Yoda be the equal in power with our chancellor is a threat to our democracy? What's keeping the Jedi from taking over?"

"About a thousand years of history," muttered Sascha under his breath.

"The simple truth," said Zven, "Is that we don't need the Jedi anymore. We can thank them for their service of years past and tell them that they are no longer welcome anymore. They can leave, take their things and practice their...religion elsewhere."

"Or my preferred solution," said Quetziel, "We put the Jedi under Republic supervision. They become public servants in the truest sense of the word. We abandon these silly regulations that the Jedi have about taking younglings from their families and not allowing them to love. They may get guidance from the Force, but we should make the Jedi accountable. Make them share their knowledge with us. If they are so wise...why do they keep their wisdom locked away, hidden from view? Why must the Jedi Order live in secrecy? I say we need to hold then accountable," Quetziel said with a snarl in his voice.

"Whatever the solution ends up being," said Zven coolly, "It is clear to us that the role of the Jedi Order needs to change. And we want to work together with all of you to bring that about."

"How do we do that?" someone shouted.

"We band together," said Zven smoothly. "We protest, we hold events, we get the media to report on us and our beliefs. Then we put pressure on politicians. It is only through our politicians can we get enough support to make these changes. It won't be easy. It won't come quickly. There will be those that question us, but if you believe, like I do, we can make the change that can help restore the Republic to its deserved greatness. Join with me in the Society for the Preservation of the Republic." Zven raised his arm to the heavens, as if imploring them to join him on stage. Nara found that to be a bit much, but she had to admit that the speech was quite good. She disagreed entirely with Zven's premise, but his arguments had been well chosen.

To Nara's chagrin, the audience started clapping Zven and Quetziel's speech. The ovation quickly enveloped the room where it was to the point that it felt like only she and Sascha was the only people not clapping.

Once the applause finally died down, Zven bowed to the room, "Thank you. Now I know many of you have questions, I'd like to answer some of them now. If you want to ask questions in private, you can speak to me afterwards if you wish. Raise your hand if you have a question."

A young Bothan raised his hand. Quetziel acknowledged him with a wave of his hand, "Yes?"

"Isn't this illegal?" asked the Bothan. "Couldn't this be considered...you know...treason?"

Zven smiled genially, "No this is not illegal, though I do want to say that if you _ever_ feel like we are asking you to do something that you are uncomfortable with, please just say so and leave. We will respect that. Everyone has a limit as to how far they can go, how much they can contribute. There's no shame in it. Going back to your question though, we are just using our right as Citizens of the Republic to exercise our free speech. And that is likely all I will ever ask any of you to do."

An aggrieved looking Gran stood, "The Jedi are a drain on our society! We should dedicate ourselves to purging the Republic of this vile infestation. We should not let these youngling stealing, money grubbing monks be around any longer!"

A large shout of support went up from around the two Jedi. Nara felt like pulling a cloak around her, only to realize that she didn't even have a cloak. The hostility in the air was almost palpable. These people around them might have had some anti-Jedi thoughts before today had started, but now they had been whipped into a fervor by Zven and Quetziel.

"We can let this go no further," Sascha said, projecting his voice just enough to be heard. "It's your move, Nara."

Nara let the shouting die down before raising her hand. As she did, she extended her senses outward and used the Force just to nudge Zven's attention in her direction.

Zven smiled slightly, "Yes Nara, you have a question?"

"I do." She smiled benignly, "If there was a Jedi here today, would you say those same things to him or her that you just told this room?"

Zven blinked twice before responding, "I would. I stand by my words."

"What if I told you that you just did," she said, putting real durasteel into her voice.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Zven said cautiously.

Nara stood from her seat and spoke proudly, "My name is Nara Nalto, Jedi Padawan. With me is Sascha Whitestar, Jedi Padawan. I think it's time we had a friendly debate," she said with a confident smile.


	14. Chapter 14: The Debate, Part Two

**LordDarthYoda** \- Yeah, there is a lot of Seperatist foreshadowing here. And as you said, Zven and Quetziel aren't completely wrong. Some points their misinterpreteing, but in general their points are solid (Nara and Sascha may not think so). Tiplee and Aurine probably wont interact with the Padawans for a bit, though we'll see them in the next chapter. They're going to come back into the story soon enough though.

 **Tristin** \- Thanks for the comment. I'm sure you can think of something negative to say if you try hard enough :p.

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** Well this next chapter won't exactly be the Lincoln-Douglass debates, but I do think that having the Jedi voice their own viewpoint is a good idea. People can be irrational against things they don't understand, but when they actually see a Jedi, they might be swayed. As for my own opinions...I tend to think that the Jedi are somewhat hypocritical, but their intentions were good. I think the Jedi Council acts wildly irrationally to serve the plot too often - 'Ahsoka is implicated in attacking the Temple? Let's cast her out after a brief trial, all the while forgetting that we raised her from youth, and know that she is a good person.' 'We suspect that Palpatine is a Sith Lord? Better have Anakin spy on him, even though he views Palpatine like a father. Don't even bother asking one of the other 10,000 Jedi Knights that we have, we're good.' Anyway I could write a whole essay on the ethics of the Jedi. In general I see them as proponents of Utilitarianism (in the John Stuart Mill sense...google it!).

A/N - No comments except that I'm on vacation this week, so next chapter might be longer than usual :).

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: The Great Jedi Debate, Part Two**

Dead silence broke out in the auditorium.

The silence lasted for a second or two before a crescendo of noise replaced it. Sascha heard some people laughing at them, some wanted proof that they were Jedi. Zven glared daggers through Nara, while Quetziel...well, Quetziel looked like he wanted to kill both of them. In fairness, there was a few other around that seemed like they might want to do that. But he and Nara stood firm, unmoving in the face of hostility.

"QUIET!" yelled Zven.

If possible, the noise in the room became louder. Sascha decided it was time to make use of the Force. He used the Force to amplify the sound of his voice around the room, and given it was an amphitheater, his voice projected quite nicely, "THERE WILL BE SILENCE!"

Eventually the noise in the room quieted enough so that Zven could be heard again, "Are we really supposed to belive that both of you are Jedi?" Zven glared fiercely at Nara, evidently he wasn't going to take this betrayal in good spirits.

"Someone in here has access to the Holonet? Just look in the Jedipedia, you'll see both of us listed," said Nara confidently.

"Or if you'd prefer to see our lightsabers, we could do that as well," he said.

A small commotion broke out of that. In Sascha's experience, _everyone_ wanted to see their lightsabers. Few ever got the chance to see a real lightsaber in person, and none of the students here wanted to give up their opportunity.

Someone in the back of the auditorium shouted, "I see them in the Jedipedia! That's them, Nara Nalto and Sascha Wheatstar."

"Whitestar," he corrected politely.

"I see them too," said another. "They actually _are_ Jedi!"

Nara smirked and took out her lightsaber from her pouch, igniting it and holding it over her head. There was an audible 'ooo' as just about every head in the auditorium swiveled so that they could get a better view of Nara's lightsaber. He could have brought his out as well, but it seemed like it wouldn't go any further to establishing the two of them as Jedi's identity. Jedi weren't supposed to show off, anyway.

He thought for a moment that sanity was going to break out and after all the commotion, he and Nara could have a nice debate with Zven and Quetziel. That nice thought lasted only for a few moments after Nara put her lightsaber away.

"They're going to arrest us all," someone shouted.

A couple of people that were near the exit suddenly decided that they were late for some sort of appointment and made a hasty retreat through the doorway before calm could be restored.

"We aren't here to arrest anyone," said Nara in a calm, placating tone. "In fact if we were going to do that, we would have done it by now. As Zven said, no one here is doing anything illegal. Even if the police came and tried to arrest you right now, we'd protect you. _All_ of you."

A murmur went through the crowd, and the room seemed to settle back down. After all, they were going to witness a debate between the Jedi and Zven and Quetziel? Who could possibly not want to see that?

"Ah yes," said Quetziel, his voice dripping heavily with sarcasm, "they great and noble Jedi would protect us. Very convenient, this hypothetical situation of yours."

"Do you want us to debate you or not?" he retorted. "You gave these people one side of the argument, don't you think that its only fair that someone gets to speak for the other side? Shouldn't a champion of free speech such as yourself welcome an alternative view?"

Quetziel glared at him, but off to the side of the stage, Zven smirked slightly, as if to acknowledge that they had a point, you couldn't prattle on about free speech for an hour and then turn around and deny it to someone else. Sascha was at least relieved to see that Zven was still pretty calm about this turn of events. Quetziel...Quetziel looked like he might launch himself at the two of them without further provocation.

"We welcome you, Jedi. Though we wish that you had not been duplicitous in your dealings," said Zven, shooting a pointed glance at Nara.

Nara steadfastly ignored Zven and his glare. The two Jedi made their way down the stairs and to the stage. Without a word passed between them the two Jedi bowed politely to Zven and Quetziel before bowing to the audience. He turned and smiled at Zven, "Do you mind if we get an opening statement, then we can debate free-form after that."

Zven opened his mouth to respond, but Quetziel shoved passed him rudely, "There's no use in debating these...Jedi whelps. They have nothing of interest to say to us!"

Nara stood her ground, "I wonder if anyone else feels the same as Quetziel. Do you really think we have nothing to say? Do you think we don't deserve to be able to speak here?"

"That's right," said Quetziel.

But, as Sascha expected, the crowd shouted him down. The audience wanted to see the Jedi. They wanted to see the showdown between the Jedi and their fellow students. Several of them were taking out their datapads so that they could record the whole thing. Which is what Sascha had been counting upon. People's insatiable curiosity. No one wanted to miss the time when two Jedi Padawans debated some anti-Jedi thinkers.

Zven put a hand on Quetziel's chest, "The Jedi deserve to be heard. Maybe we can even find some common ground."

Quetziel looked like his eyes might bulge out of his sockets at that last remark and he tried to speak, but Sascha silenced him by just talking over him. Not subtle, but it worked.

"I do think there is common ground between us," he said. "I agree with you that the Jedi should be more open. We are a bit like recluses. And in operating that way, I think we come off as arrogant, detached from the world around us. I don't think we are doing it maliciously, I think it comes from a lack of communication from the Jedi Order. We don't advertise, we never say what we are doing we just...appear, like we did today, do what we do, and then disappear back into the Temple. That isn't really a good way to build trust between us and the citizens of the Republic."

"There _is_ no trust between the Jedi and the citizens of the Republic," retorted Quetziel loudly.

"I disagree," said Nara. "In fact, you are demonstrating trust right now."

"No, I'm NOT," replied Quetziel, who seemed to be on the verge of losing his temper. That was probably good, optics wise. If he and Nara could present a calm, reasoned argument, while Quetziel and Zven were wild, and angry, it would look better to the crowd. Just visually speaking, if two sides were having a debate and one side was getting angry, people just assumed that side was losing the debate.

"You are," said Nara pointedly. "If you didn't trust the Jedi at all, you'd be fleeing for your life. Despite your low opinion of us, you know that we are fundamentally trustworthy. We said that we want and honest debate and that we wouldn't arrest you. That is true. If you thought it was untrue...why are you still here Quetziel Roa?"

Quetziel puffed himself up like he was going to march right past them and out the door. Then, after a moment, he thought better of it, "You were the one's that wanted a debate, Jedi. I'm the one doing _you_ a favour."

"Will you do us the favour of allowing us to speak then?" asked Sascha.

"We will," said Zven, silencing his companion. "We will give you the courtesy of being able to have an opening statement. Then we will debate. Debate is really the wrong word...we will have a dialog."

Sascha gave him a respectful nod, "Thank you. As I said earlier, there's some points that have been made here today that I agree with. There are many that I do not. Many of you wonder why the Jedi take their initiates as younglings. It's a common refrain that we hear throughout the galaxy. 'Why must you be so cruel' people ask us. So why does the Jedi Order do it?"

"An individual born with Force-sensitivity is not a normal child, not by any definition," said Nara. "Each force-sensitive child has the potential to be one of the galaxy's most fearsome warriors, as long as they get the right training. But it's not necessarily the training that is the most important part of why the Jedi take their Initiates as infants."

Sascha took over. "You are all, I'm sure, on some level, of comic book superheroes, whether they be Captain Coruscant, Hawk-bat Man, The Red Flash, and so on and so forth. Some even call us Jedi superheroes, which is of course flattering, but kind of misses the point. In the stories where the heroes fail, it is always when they are confronted with choices between the ones that they love and the 'right' choice. Often this is portrayed as a 'human' failing, a superhero's one weakness."

"But what if you could take away that weakness," Sascha continued. "What if you could make it so that this superhero has no allegiance to anything besides his fellow citizens? His family is unknown. His friends are similarly devoted to their jobs. This superhero appears to be incorruptible, because he has no weaknesses. No desires, other than to serve. You'd probably say that is a very boring superhero. And you'd probably be correct," he said with a smile. "But that is, essentially what the Jedi do. We take away the outside influences so that a Jedi, individually is incorruptible."

"Is that your claim?" asked Zven skeptically. "The Jedi are above corruption, above the influences of mere mortals like us?"

"No," said Nara. "I, like everyone want to save my friends, have loyalty on some level to my home planet, see handsome boys as handsome as so on and so forth. But I do not believe that I, or any other Jedi are above these emotions. But they may have less impact for us. I have never been to Shili. I only have a few memories of my parents. I have some minor loyalty to my planet and my parents, but nothing that would sway my decision making. And that is what makes the Jedi the Republic's best diplomats. I cannot be bought, or influenced. I accept that there are diplomats in the Republic that have similar dispositions. But this is why when mediation is required, the Republic sends a Jedi, because they know that whoever they send will do their best, and that they are beyond being influenced to make a decision a certain way."

"So you believe that the sacrifices you make, to live without family, to live without a chance to have children, to have been taken from your homes as younglings is the price you have to pay to produce Jedi," said Zven. "You see no alternative to this? You don't see how this makes the Jedi look?"

Sascha knew that this question was a personal one for Nara. She was the one that actually knew her parents. She knew their names, knew their faces, and she knew how much it had pained them to give her over to the Jedi.

"I think," Nara said slowly, deliberately, "When you are dealing with exceptional individuals such as potential Jedi, every step needs to be taken so that these children don't grow up and become a potential threat..."

"So these infants are dangerous?" interrupted Quetziel. "That's why families are destroyed?"

"They are dangerous. To their parents even. There's a reason why the Jedi keep the list of Force sensitive children embedded in a kyber crystal. There are probably about three hundred children that are taken into the Jedi Order each year. Three hundred. In the entire galaxy. But imagine that a criminal syndicate knew of a Force-sensitive child. They would likely try to kidnap the child, either to train them themselves or to sell them to the highest bidder. When you are talking about one of the most precious resources in the galaxy...some advanced precautions are necessary."

"What about the parents, huh? What about their right to raise a child of their own?" snarled Quetziel.

Sascha shared a quick look at Nara. He silently gave her an almost imperceptible shake of his head. While he was almost completely sure that Quetziel was related in some way to his clanmate Doro, it wouldn't be polite or just to bring it up during this 'debate.'

"Sometimes we must serve the greater good," Nara said simply.

"And who determines the greater good, Jedi?" asked Zven, "You? You talk about the greater good, and I assume you make the grandiose claim that it is for the greater good of the galaxy. But what about the greater good for the individual? You say that there are only three hundred families that are destroyed each year, and that is a small price to pay in a galaxy that has trillions and trillions of beings in it. But those small cruelties are still cruelties."

Nara took a moment to reply and he almost jumped in, but his friend was clearly just taking the time to formulate a response, "I agree that it's cruel. Unfathomably cruel. I remember the day that I was taken away from my parents...it was the worst day of my life, bar none. In the end though...I've saved thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of lives. What is more important, my parents having a child taken from them, or thousands of parents losing their children?"

"One would suggest that this might be left up to the parents of these children," suggested Zven.

"And it is," he said. "No parent has their kid taken from them. That's just propaganda spread by those that dislike the Jedi. Let's face it, few beings are selfish enough to keep their children from becoming Jedi."

"So it's not really a choice at all then," said Zven. "Either hand over your child, or be a selfish, social pariah."

Sascha shrugged casually, "I suppose you could put it like that."

"So you concede the point?" asked Zven incredulously.

"No. I just believe that we reached to logical endpoint to this discussion. I maintain that our Initiates are not taken by force and gave evidence. You argued the other side, that societal pressures make it so that parents hand over their children 'voluntarily.' Is there really any point in arguing this any further?"

Zven smiled tightly, "As long as you concede that I am correct."

"Never," said Nara, smiling sweetly.

Zven opened his mouth to respond, but Quetziel's patience eventually appeared to run out. "I don't understand why we are discussing this small issue, when the big issue is the Jedi controlling and sabotaging the Republic and the Senate, all the while taking up resources for themselves. Any response, Jedi?"

"Maybe you should pick one of those topics to discuss," he said, hiding a smile. Quetziel's almost unhinged performance in this debate was really adding to the Jedi's side. Zven's companion just didn't have the patience and eloquence to have a civilized, public discussion.

"Fine. Do you deny that the Jedi control the Republic?"

"Of course," he replied. "If we wanted to control the Republic, we'd just do it. Why would we need an intermediary?"

"So you can have a convenient scapegoat at hand, obviously," replied Quetziel.

Sascha frowned, "But...why? The Jedi Order is far more supported by the public than the Republic Senate. I don't know if a poll has ever been taken to confirm this, but I'd bet that some portion of the Republic would be in _favour_ of the Jedi just taking over. We have no interest in doing this, of course."

"And you think that the Jedi would do a better job of running the Republic then our politicians?" asked Zven.

It was a good question and counterpoint by the experienced debater, Zven. Claiming that the Jedi would do a better job than the current Senate would not only be the height of arrogance, it would also probably be true. Footage of any Jedi claiming that the Jedi would do better than politicians in running the Republic would also be a quick way to undermine the relationship between the Jedi and the Republic. So his answer called for tact.

"I think with a political organization as large and as varied as the Senate, there are always going to be periods of time where things are more chaotic then others. Now is certainly a period of deadlock and instability. Even though there have been Jedi Chancellors in the distant past, I feel like it is best for the Republic to have a Chancellor that is a non-Jedi. Every young person in the Republic should feel like they have the ability to grow up and become Chancellor. That would not be possible if the Chancellor had to be a Jedi."

Zven smiled slightly, recognizing a skilled dodge of the question. "Don't you think that the Jedi have become too involved in the politics of the Republic? For an Order of un-elected monks, you seem to always be at the heart of many controversies."

"It's a good question. I don't know what the right amount of involvement is," Sascha admitted. "But lets play a hypothetical game. Say you got what you wanted and the Jedi Order simply picked up and left, what would happen after that?"

"Things would get a whole lot better," said Quetziel.

Nara caught his eye and Sascha ceded the floor to his friend, "Well the first thing that you'd probably notice would be that your taxes would go up."

Quetziel snorted, "Preposterous. The Jedi are a drain on our resources, not a boon."

"I disagree," said Nara smoothly. "If the Jedi Order left tomorrow, the first thing that would have to be done would be the creation of an army and space navy to protect the Republic. That would be expensive. And thus, your taxes would probably grow up."

"I don't know if you noticed, Jedi, but the Republic doesn't have a military even now," said Quetziel.

"That's because there's ten thousand Jedi Knights that defend the Republic," said Nara. "We tend to be a pretty big deterrent to outsiders attacking. Everyone remembers what happened to the Zygerrians when they attacked? Their empire was destroyed by the Jedi Order."

"And you should have did it earlier," said Zven. "Slaving scum has no place in the galaxy."

Sascha privately agreed with him, as did many other Jedi. However there was no point in bringing that up during this debate.

"Ignoring that," continued Nara. "The Jedi Order maintain peace within the Republic far better than a traditionally military can at fractions of the price."

Zven rolled his eyes dramatically, "And there it is, the Jedi taking credit for there being peace in the galaxy."

"If you desire peace, prepare for war," quoted Sascha. "We can craft all these narratives around it if we want, but the truth is, no one fights inside the Republic because no one wants the wrath of 10,000 Jedi coming down upon them. It's the Jedi's strength that is one of the reasons that the Republic has had this period of peace. If we packed up and left, there are a hundred different regional conflicts that might flare up."

Zven clapped his hands together sarcastically, "A great array of hypotheticals there. Truly impressive stuff making up a scenario that doesn't exist to prove the Jedi's efficacy."

Sascha's mouth twitched slightly and he saw people in the audience nodding. In fairness, he had put hypotheticals on top of hypotheticals. "We are talking about scenarios that don't exist," he conceded gracefully.

But that was enough for Zven to turn and speak directly to the assembled audience and speechify, "You see the arrogance of these two Jedi! They think that they can just prance down here, say a few words and have everyone change their mind like you are weak willed sheep that can only pay attention to the shiny thing that is in front of them." Zven whirled on the two Jedi, "Tell me, why are you here, why are you doing this? Isn't this just another mission for you? Do you even care? Do the Jedi care about any of us?"

A couple of shouts of encouragement followed Zven's emphatic speech. So much for debate. The Zabrak had gone for emotion, so Sascha decided that he would too.

"If we didn't care, we wouldn't be here," he said. "We would have just ignored you and went on with our lives. Or if we were truly tyrannical, we would have simply had the police arrest everyone in this room. But we didn't do that. Nara and I are here, talking to you today because we care that misinformation is being spread about us. We care, because we care about the Republic. We care, because we want to help as many of you as possible. We care...because we gave up the normalcy of our lives, so that you can lead rich, fulfilling lives. I do not have a homeworld. I will never take a wife. I will lead a life of simple austerity. And why do I do it? I do it for all of you. Nara and I, we will fight bounty hunters, and rush into danger so that you don't have to. We act as a military so we don't have mandatory conscription. My life...our lives," he corrected, throwing an arm around his friend and pulling her into a hug, "Our lives are dedicated to you. So of course we care. No one like to sacrifice in vain."

Sascha brushed away a tear that had sprung up. He had thought about the sacrifices that he had made in his own life, but rarely had he vocalized them, and never in public like this. But it was true. The reason that the Jedi operated the way that they did was that so the vast majority of the citizens of the Republic could just live their lives, free of oppression or war. He thought of his own life as fulfilling in its own way, but he couldn't pretend that it was not without sacrifice.

"Great speech," whispered Nara, "You really turned it around on him."

"Bring it home, Nara," he whispered back. The truth was at that very moment, he probably couldn't have continued to speak without becoming more emotional. The last thing Sascha wanted was to find some video on the Holonet titled 'Emotional Jedi sobs during speech to students.

Nara stepped forward and focused her attention on the crowd, "Though I shouldn't have to say it, everything that my friend Sascha says is true. We serve, so that you can attend Universities of such quality. We serve the Republic because we believe in its ideals. We are here because we _care_ so very, very much. Zven and Quetziel can slander us, spread lies, and protest us. That's fine. Their words do _not_ scar us. But consider this, why do we need to change the Republic? It's stood for more than five _thousand_ years. If that isn't a successful partnership, I don't know what is. For generations, the Jedi have defended the Republic. And we will defend it for generations more. I'm asking you here, if you believe in the Jedi, to critique us, but to never doubt that we will act like we always have - in the best interest of the Republic and its citizens."

A chorus of applause started. It started softly, from a couple of people in the corner of the Auditorium, but it picked up in volume quickly as more and more people joined in. By the time the crescendo reached its peak, about seventy five percent of the audience was voicing their approval, with the other quarter sitting stone faced. It wasn't a complete victory. But it seemed like this recruitment rally was not going to be very successful. It wasn't going to stop people from forming opinions about the Jedi, but there was nothing they could do to combat that. All they could do was hope that their actions would speak loud enough to drown out those that wanted to pull them down.

After the applause faded, Quetizel swallowed a guttural cry before heading for the exit. Zven seemed to have sensed that he had lost this encounter, with his co-debater walking off the stage, so he walked over to the two Jedi, his face barely concealing the anger that radiated off him in the Force. "I'll never forgive you for this, Nara." Zven said, staring directly at the Togruta. Nara met his gaze without flinching. "I'll never stop fighting for what I believe in," Zven said, as his hands shook with barely suppressed rage.

"Good," he replied evenly. "Keep us honest. The Jedi are not beyond critique."

"You're beyond common sense," snarled Zven, waving an arm wildly. "You come in here and act like gods. Everyone fawns all over you, 'oh my stars, a real life Jedi.'" mimed Zven. "It's like a cult of personality. You Jedi have everyone fooled. The Republic will reach its potential when you Jedi are gone, just you wait and see."

"No, it won't," said Nara. "The Republic without the Jedi is no Republic at all."

"I hope you never have to experience a galaxy without the Jedi Order," Sascha said honestly.

"It sounds like a utopia to me," Zven raged. The Zabrak made a sound of frustration and then pushed past the Jedi, heading for the exit. A few of Zven's more devoted followers, including Jas, followed him. Still, more of the attendees hung around somewhat awkwardly. Many were typing on their datapads excitedly, no doubt telling their friends what they had just witnessed. Some were still looking at he and Nara with skepticism, but most of them seemed to have been convinced, at least partially, that the Jedi were not about to take over the Republic. That would have to be enough.

He nudged Nara's shoulder, "Let's go play the nice Jedi for another hour or so. Answer questions, that kind of thing."

"Winning hearts and minds one at a time," Nara replied with a coy smile on her face. "Sounds like a plan. Let's do it."

He and Nara turned to face the crowd, "Now, if anyone has any questions, we'll be answering them for the next little bit..."

"Can we see a demonstration with your lightsabers," shouted someone.

A loud chorus of cheers followed that pronouncement.

Sascha shrugged, "It's always the lightsabers," he said to Nara, finding some of his usual good cheer returning. He turned and spoke to the crowd, "Okay, stand back and give us some space. Nara and I will show you some basic moves."


	15. Chapter 15: Wrapping Up

**LordDarthYoda** \- I have an unlimited imagination, thats how I create these fun characters :p. Some of these characters will be back, for sure. Oh, I'm sure it was recorded on the Holonet too and I'm sure Tiplee and Aurine will get a copy of it...

 **Tristin** \- Yeah, I wanted to do a mission where that didn't end in blasterfire or fighting. It won't always be like this, but after doing a book where it was basically war, I wanted to do something more peaceful.

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** Vacation was not as fun as I hoped. Oh well. Thanks for your comments as always :).

 **ColdOnePaul** \- Yes, there was a _lot_ of foreshadowing of how the Republic eventually shrugged as the Jedi Order was eliminated. Even Sascha and Nara, who are the heroes, aren't always 'correct' about things. And yes lightsabers xD.

A/N - Okay, this kind of an 'reset' chapter. We'll be at the Jedi Temple for a bit, but we are going to see some major characters, Obi-wan, Anakin, Palpatine, Dooku...they'll all be here :). I have some fun stuff planned for that and then well go out on the final mission of the book.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Wrapping Up**

Sascha and Nara spent more time then they had wanted in the auditorium that day, answering questions from the students that had attended the impromptu 'debate.' Whenever they thought that might be done with questions from the students, in came a few more questions. Rather than appear rude, he and Nara hid their annoyance and played the role of the infinitely patient Jedi. It was an old adage of the Jedi Order was that you could only get people to forget one negative interaction with a Jedi, by having that same person have two positive interactions with a Jedi. And considering that most people didn't get to have one interaction with a Jedi, let alone three, it had always been stressed at the Temple that it was always important to be polite in public.

"I thought it was never going to end," commented Nara on the way back to their apartment. "The questions about sex were a bit much, weren't they?"

Sascha winced, "Always fun being asked if you have ever had sex before, and even if you are allowed to have it."

"The life of a celebrity," Nara said lightly, "The public always want to know who you are sleeping with."

"Well I'm currently sleeping with a cute Togruta," Sascha said with a smirk.

"That's the last time you are going to mention that," Nara deadpanned. "Or else."

He couldn't find another good joke to follow up, so he simply nodded, "Sorry, the joke was right there, I had to take it. But we agree we aren't telling our Masters about sharing the same bed, right?"

"I don't know, it might be fun to see our Master's reactions. Aurine might have a heart attack."

"I'd be fun for about three seconds, I think," he said.

"Something like that." Nara slowed her pace, "How do you think that who thing went?"

"It went about as well as could be expected. We were lucky that Quetziel was there, I think. If it was just Zven we were debating against it would have been harder because Zven is so logical and well-spoken. Quetziel is just...a wildcard. He weakened their case."

"Our arguments were strong though," said Nara. "And we were able to bring emotion behind us, which was good. Logic plus emotion equals a powerful argument. Besides, we didn't need to convince people that they need to love the Jedi or everything we do. We just needed to convince them not to join up with Zven and their crew. They've been weakened badly, because we discredited Zven and his ideals in public. And it's hard to claim that the Jedi Order doesn't care about its citizens when the two of us showed up here." Nara pushed him with her left hand, "Good job, Sascha. This was a good idea."

"Couldn't have done it without you."

"I thought that went without saying," laughed Nara.

Sascha smiled at his friend. As he had observed on many different occasions, the pairing of the two of them together just...worked. Their comfort as friends certainly helped things, but as partners they were a perfect team. Sometimes he wondered if facing Nara in the second round of the Apprentice Tournament had been a fluke, or if it had been someone's plan to push the two of them together. Certainly, their chance encounter had changed both of them for the better. He had proved that he could compete with a talented Jedi like Nara, and Nara had gotten a dose of humility from him.

"Do you ever think back to it?" he asked.

Nara's wide blue eyes frowned at him, "Can I get a Sascha Whitestar to basic translation, please? Think back to what?"

"The time we first met?"

Nara looked skyward for a moment, "Yeah, occasionally. Why?"

"Was it luck, or the Force that we faced each other on that day?"

Nara sighed in a mocking, playful, fashion, "I don't know Sascha. If you wanted to know, why don't you ask?"

"You're a genius, Nara."

"You know, if you keep saying that, even sarcastically, it will start becoming true."

Sascha laughed. He changed the subject, "You think we'll still be doing missions together in ten years?"

The Togruta shook her head as she stepped into the lobby of their apartment, "I don't think that far ahead. Honestly, the minute we think that we made it, or that we are guaranteed something, that's when you get complacent. We can't let that happen."

Sascha waited until the elevator door opened before speaking next, "Your right. This was just a fun mission, Nara. Despite that whole thing with Ezah, I didn't get shot at once, and I felt like I was enjoying myself most of the time. That's a nice change of pace these days." The elevator doors closed. The elevator itself started whirring slightly as it rapidly ascended.

"Me too," said Nara. "It was a nice reminder of what our lives might have been like if we had not grown up to be Jedi. Thank the Force I am a Jedi, because this is all so dreadfully boring."

The elevator door opened and the two Jedi stepped out, "I thought you might like it," he said. "You always struck me as one of the Jedi that would find it easy to just slip into being 'normal.'"

Nara opened the door to their apartment with the keycard, she kicked off her boots, sending them flying deeper into the apartment and then sunk into the couch, "Sorry, I stood for too long during the debate, my feet are tired."

"That's not a problem a Jedi should probably have," he replied.

"And yet, here we are." Nara leaned back into the couch, fully relaxed, "We should call our Masters. They're probably out of contact, but we can let them know we are available to talk."

"Didn't they not want to be contacted?" Sascha went into the kitchen and filled two glasses with water, then he handed one to Nara.

"Force bless you, Sascha. My throat is parched from all that talking."

"Sore feet, dry throat. Any more ailments to disclose?"

"No, but I'm about to have sore knuckles from punching you in the nose," Nara retorted, making absolutely no move to get off the couch or threaten him in any way. What a lazy predator.

Sascha continued, "Anyway. Our Masters. I thought we'd contact them and say that we feel the mission is completed...as much as possible at least."

Nara waved a hand lazily in his direction, "Do the honours, Padawan Whitestar."

Sascha rolled his eyes and got to work in setting up the communications station in their apartment to transmit on a specific, Jedi only, encryption and frequency. After that was done, he sent a quick message to his Master, telling her that their mission had seemingly reached its endpoint and they were requesting further instructions.

"Where do you think they are?" asked Nara.

He shrugged, "No idea. If this was a bad holomovie, we'd hear a knock on the door and they'd walk in, revealing that they'd been monitoring us the whole time."

Nara groaned, "Your imagination knows no bounds, Sascha."

"You say that like its a bad thing," he teased.

After about twenty minutes, during which the two Jedi changed into more comfortable clothes and ate some light snacks, the Padawans received their response. A curt, text only message that simply read 'Busy. Contact your mission handler at the Temple.'

After Nara read it, she made a pouty face, "Our Masters have no time for us anymore."

"Looks that way. Want to stay here on vacation?" he asked half-seriously.

"Nah, this planet is boring. I'd rather be at the Temple, if possible. I haven't been back in months."

"Me too. Let me just figure out what time it is on Courscant before I call the Temple in the dead of night."

Sascha manually ran the calculations in his head, while Nara simply pulled out her datapad. In a race between mind and machine, machine usually won, and this case was no different. Nara got the answer first, "It's evening on Coruscant, so its a good time to call. Do you know who our mission supervisor is?"

"It's probably Luminara," he said. Aurine's good friend Luminara was preparing to take on Bariss Offee as her Padawan and that entailed being at the Temple more often then usual while she trained up her new apprentice. Sascha had only met Bariss briefly, and she had struck him as a nice but very shy girl. Luminara would have a bit of a task in getting the younger Miralian to become more confident.

Sascha contacted the Temple through the usual, low-priority channel and informed the young Initiate that was currently on communications duty (a very boring task that was often used as a quasi-punishment) that he wanted to speak to whoever was in change of handling their mission. But when that person popped up in tiny Holographic form, Sascha was surprised to see who it was.

"Master Kenobi?"

"The very same," Obi-wan said dryly.

Even in reduced size, Obi-wan's usual wry expression was evident on his face...along with tired looking eyes. That was probably Anakin Skywalker's fault. The Jedi Order's latest and greatest prodigy, Anakin Skywalker's potential was talked about in way that made it clear to everyone that he was not only going to become a powerful Jedi, but that he might be the most powerful Jedi of his generation. Given the way that he had arrived at the Temple, at the almost unheard of age of 9, Skywalker was always going to get a fair amount of scrutiny. Unfortunately, Anakin was seen by many as something of a sullen, moody brat, which was an attitude that only seemed to be growing stronger over the years, despite being the Padawan of one of the leading lights of the Jedi Order in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"We're...uh...done our mission...we think," he stammered.

Obi-wan's eyebrows lifted, "Why don't you let me be the judge of that."

He and Nara quickly filled in Obi-wan on what they had found and what they had done during their time on Estimar. When they were done, Obi-wan asked a few questions, which they answered. The older Jedi then scratched at his chin, "Is there anything else you think that you could do to alleviate this situation further?"

Sascha shook his head, "I think further action would be counterproductive. If we were seen hanging around for much longer on the planet, people would start to wonder why we were paying so much attention to this planet and this particular group of dissidents."

"A fair point," admitted Kenobi. "Well, it seems that the best thing to do is to make your way back to the Temple. I assume you are comfortable in...acquiring transport to return."

"You mean hitchhiking," commented Nara dryly.

"It's a Jedi tradition," said Obi-wan. "And its not hitchhiking if you pay a fair rate for your passage."

"We'll start heading back to Coruscant tomorrow," he said.

"Good. I might have something for the two of you when you return," said Obi-wan as he stroked what was the rough beginnings of a beard.

"A mission?" asked Nara.

"Not quite..."

Mysterious, thought Sascha.

"What about our Masters, any word from them?" pressed Nara.

Obi-wan smiled, "Yes, they checked in yesterday. They have...acquired their bounty hunter and are personally escorting him to LaForage prison on Develi. They said that they might do some interrogation of the bounty hunter there, so they may still be a week or so before they head back to the Temple."

"That's good," said Nara. "Both Sascha and I need time at the Temple, both of us are behind on our studies."

Obi-wan sighed, "That is becoming common, and not because of the laziness of the Padawans, but because we receive more and more mission requests. In times past, there might have been months between missions. Now we are lucky if it is weeks between missions." Obi-wan shook his head, "But that is neither here, nor there. Return to the Temple at your earliest convenience, your mission is over. Job well done."

"Thank you, Master Kenobi," said both Padawans in unison.

"See you, Padawans." Kenobi's image blinked away.

Nara let out a long, tired sigh, "Lets have a quiet evening. Dinner, mediation and maybe some more episodes of _The Masterless Jedi_?"

"Only if you make dinner," he replied.

"Actually, I think we should eat out. Enjoy the cuisine and free time now that we have it, for once."

"Free...time?" Sascha said, as if he was struggling with the very concept of the words.

Nara rolled her eyes, "Such a comedian."

"Well, you said I had free time, I was working on my comedy act,"

"Someone please shoot me," groaned Nara.

* * *

The next day Nara Nalto packed up her belongings. She wistfully packed the clothes that Sascha had bought for her at Calvais Station in a separate bag, she would bring to a clothes donation facility. The clothes looked so nice on her, and she liked wearing them...and it was for that reason that they had to go. There was no such thing as attachments in a Jedi's life. Even to clothes. So even though she could logically make the case that she might have need of her clothes again one day, she knew by getting rid of these clothes she was reaffirming herself to the Jedi.

It still rankled though.

But dressing as a Jedi always felt right. Her robe, while homespun and rough, fit her perfectly. It was like returning to a comfortable old skin. "That's not a great mental image," she muttered to herself.

She finished packing her bag and went into the main room where Sascha was looking around to see if he could spot anything that they'd left behind. He searched for a few more moments before he turned and faced her, "I think we have everything. Time to go?"

"I have one last thing I want to do," she said suddenly as an idea popped into her head.

"Right now?"

"Before we leave," she said. She slung her bag over her shoulder, "I'll meet you at the spaceport?"

"Do you want to tell me where you are going?" asked Sascha.

"I'm going to talk to Zven."

He frowned, "I feel like I'll ask the obvious question...why?"

"I'm going to confess that I love him," she replied sardonically.

Sascha took the joke/non-answer in stride, "Okay, tell him that I love him too."

The two Jedi exited their former apartment and went their separate ways. Sascha took an airspeeder to the spaceport, while she walked to the campus of Apren Polytechnic for the last time. If she knew Zven's schedule well, he would just be exiting in his fourth year class in Advanced Hyperspace Functions in a few minutes. That would be the best time to talk to him because it would be in public and he would probably not try to strangle the life from her body in public. Probably.

But luck or fate was on her side today as she arrived outside of the classroom just to see Zven and a few of his friends walking out the door.

Zven spotted her incoming and froze in his tracks. "You!" said Zven venomously.

"Me," she replied agreeably. "May I speak to you in private?"

The Zabrak glared at her and for a second she thought that Zven was trying to summon laser beams from the top of his horns. If he was, he failed miserably at doing so. She could absorb his glares. She had be stared at by much more intimidating beings then Zven Hitplik. Zven eventually turned to his friends and said, "Leave us, I'll catch up."

As his friends walked away Zven turned his fiery gaze on her, "What more do you want from me? Is there something else you want to take from me, Jedi?"

Nara held her hands up in a placating gesture, "I don't want to take anything from you. I'm here to talk for a moment."

"Make it quick."

Nara expected that Zven would be angry with her and expected such a rebuke, "I wanted to apologize for deceiving you. It was necessary, but I know how much it probably hurt you on a personal level."

Zven looked skyward and laughed, "You're here to apologize. For hurting my feelings. Do you know how ludicrous that is?"

"You can think its ludicrous, you can think of me...whatever or however you want. I don't care. But I came back here to see you to apologize. That should mean something to you."

"You mean nothing to me, Jedi," Zven snarled, his nostrils flaring in anger. "Your words mean nothing to me."

Nara really wanted to grab Zven by the collar and throttle him, but she refrained from doing anything so stupid, even though it might be the best thing for him. "What if I told you that the galaxy needs people like you?"

"I would tell you I don't need wisdom from a Jedi." Zven turned and started walking away.

This wasn't going the way that Nara had wanted, but she was a stubborn Togruta, and was not about to give up so easily, "Zven, can you just give me a _kriffing_ moment?" When Zven didn't slow down, she decided it was time to take the nuclear option, "Zven, Quetziel is not who he says he is."

Zven paused in his tracks and then turned and faced her, "You have one moment to explain."

"Ever wonder why Quetziel is a bit...unhinged when he talks about the Jedi?"

Zven's eyes clouded over with a small amount of doubt, "He's very passionate about the corruption of the Jedi Order," he said uncertainly.

"He is indeed. But the reason why he's like that. Do some research into a Jedi Padawan named Doro Roa. Sascha and I are very confident in saying that Doro and Quetziel are related. Probably brothers, given how alike they look."

Zven closed his eyes for a moment, "That would explain some things. You have proof?"

"No," she admitted. "Personally, I feel it is true, but I have no evidence to prove it. I encourage you to do your own research, though."

"Thank you," Zven said sarcastically.

"Quetziel's also been arrested before. I think he's got some ties to some dangerous people." Nara paused, "You don't know this because it wasn't reported in the news, but Ezah Reisel was attacked after her concert. It was only stopped because Sascha and I happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"I hope you are not accusing me of such a thing. We were outside, protesting," Zven said, frowning.

"No," she replied quickly. "I know that you were not involved. But was Quetziel? Again, I have no hard evidence, but to me he seems like the most likely suspect."

"And are the police investigating him? Investigating us?"

Nara shook her head, "I have no knowledge of any investigations into you, your group or even Quetziel."

Zven appraised her for a moment, then he blew out a long breath, "I suppose I should thank you."

Nara bowed her head respectfully, "You are welcome."

"Why did you do this? Why did you come seek me out?" asked Zven.

Nara shrugged, "Because I care. I could have been on my way home by now, but I thought that you should know."

"But...I'm your enemy."

She laughed, "No, you aren't. The Jedi Order's enemies are far more nefarious then you, Zven Hitplik."

Zven grunted, "That's not a very flattering thing to say to someone."

She shrugged, "I wasn't intending on flattering you."

"You are something, Nara Nalto. There's so much arrogance in you."

"But humility and grace as well," she said.

"I am yet to be convinced by that."

"Fair enough." She bowed to Zven, "I must go now. I wish you all the best, Zven Hitplik. You are a young man of uncommon intelligence and skill. The Republic needs more people like you."

"Hmph," grunted Zven. "Goodbye, Padawan Nalto." The Zabrak pivoted on his heel and walked quickly in the direction of his friends.

Nara waited until he was gone and then looked skyward, "That could have gone better, I suppose. It could have gone worse too..."

She shrugged to herself and hoped that maybe she had accomplished something worthwhile with Zven. She then made her way to one of the main thoroughfares to flag down an airtaxi. Hopefully Sascha had secured a decent ride for them to take back to Coruscant.

* * *

Sascha Whitestar, Jedi Padawan, hero of the conflict on Ubrora, celebrated son of Sluis Van, walked nervously around the local spaceport in Apren. If there was one thing that he hated to do it was beg. And that what was essentially what he needed to do here.

Dressed in full Jedi regalia (and feeling very comfortable being back in his usual clothes) Sascha was in the unenviable position of finding transport that would take he and Nara back home. He had hoped that Nara would be here with him, but she had run off to do 'something important.' Whatever that was. So that meant that he would have to go hunting for a ride for he and Nara on his own.

Sascha decided that instead of trying to find a captain that was heading to Coruscant he'd wander around the spaceport, hoping to find someone that was going there. He wasn't going to take a passenger liner (too expensive), he was hoping for someone going on a cargo run to the Galactic Capital. Unfortunately, they didn't really advertise where they were going.

Sascha wandered up to a booth that was manned by an extremely bored looking young woman, who was tapping away on her datapad. He approached her with a friendly smile and waited for her to see him. After a couple of moments where she continued to stare at her datapad, she looked up and addressed him, "You some kind of Jedi?"

He shrugged, "On my better days."

The young woman rolled her eyes, "How can I help you?"

"I'd like to know if there are any freighters going directly to Coruscant leaving in the next few hours."

A sigh escaped from the woman, "I'll check. Hold on one minute."

"Thank you."

After about thirty seconds of waiting, the young woman, who had an elaborate nose-piercing that Sascha thought looked more painful then attractive finally responded, "There's two ships leaving this afternoon for Coruscant."

"And what landing bays are they located in?"

"19 and 77."

"Thanks."

The young woman gave him a dismissive wave and returned her attention back to her datapad. Sascha, on the other hand now had to convince a starship captain to take on two additional passengers on a cut-rate fare. Some captains were happy to have a Jedi aboard their ship, considering that if their ship got attacked by pirates, there would be a Jedi onboard to defend them. Other captains thought of the Jedi as bad luck. Sascha had to hope that there was a captain that wanted he and Nara around.

Sascha decided that he would try Bay 77 first. Inside the slightly decrepit looking bay was an old looking freighter that was of Corelian design. From a quick glance it looked like it was in decent enough shape. The gray paint was rusting slightly in places, which showed that the ship wasn't kept in perfect shape, but as Sascha walked around the ship, he saw that in the places where it really mattered, like the engine, the parts appeared to be in good shape.

"Can I help you?" The voice is male and cautious, though Sascha can't see where it came from.

"I'm looking for the captain of this ship," Sascha replied.

Finally, after stepping around a corner of the ship, he saw a male Togruta, dressed in a high-collared shirt. An orange-skinned Togruta, he was a little bit taller then him with strong looking arms. The Togruta was wiping what appeared to be grease off of his hands, "You've found him. How can I help you?"

Here came the uncomfortable part, "My name is Sascha Whitestar, Jedi Padawan. I heard that you were going to Coruscant. My fellow Padawan and I would like to purchase passage on board your ship."

The Togruta captain looked unimpressed, "Padawan, eh? You do look the part at least."

Sascha mentally sighed, "I have proof, if you'd like."

The captain chuckled slightly, "I would like some proof."

Sascha took his datapad out, pressed a few buttons and then tossed it casually towards the Togruta. Then, halfway before it would have reached him, Sascha extended an arm and used the Force to 'catch' the datapad. Then he gently floated it into the Togruta's extended hands.

"I...see..." said the stunned Togruta. He casually glanced at the datapad, "Well, I have room for a couple of extra crew. Not fancy rooms, or particularly comfortable, but serviceable enough."

"Thank you. I'm willing to pay."

The Togruta looked stunned, "I couldn't possibly charge a Jedi for transport."

"How about if I put it this way, I'd prefer if I paid you something for the expense."

The captain hesitated, "Ah, well, if you put it _that_ way. I'll accept what you think is fair price. Welcome to the _Calculated Risk_. I'm Aarvo Iloma. Captain Iloma if you want to be formal."

"Thank you, Captain Iloma." Sascha replied, breathing out a sigh of relief. That whole thing had gone pretty smoothly, all things considered. Why had he been so nervous beforehand?

Aarvo waved him inside, "My two sons are out getting supplies for our trip back, so it might be a few hours before we lift off. Are you okay with that?"

"Not a problem."

Aarvo gave him a small tour of the ship, apparently the ship was carrying some exotic fruits native to Estimar all the way to Coruscant. But the ship was pretty much a standard freighter, nothing to get overly excited about. Aarvo showed him to a small room that had probably started off as a storage closet – the bed itself was attached to the wall. But he'd slept in worse places. He thanked Aarvo and messaged Nara that their transportation could be found at bay 77 of the spaceport.

He met Nara at the entrance ramp of the ship some moments later, "Welcome to the _Calculated Risk,_ my friend."

"I like the name," said Nara.

She froze when two new figures entered the bay area, "Hey! What are you doing here?"

Captain Iloma marched down the ramp and smiled at the two newcomers, who Sascha soon realized were the Captain's own sons. Nara's expression didn't change much, but in the Force, he could tell that she was pleased by the new arrivals. Sascha only now realized that there would be four Togruta and only one human on the ship. For once, he'd be the odd (hu)man out.

Captain Iloma spoke, "These two Jedi will be joining us on our trip."

The two younger Togruta males looked gobsmacked, "Jedi?"

Aarvo grinned, "Our luck is getting better these days. This is Jedi Padawan Sascha Whitestar and...I don't know your name..."

"Jedi Padawan Nara Nalto," said Nara. "Pleased to meet all of you."

Captain Iloma smiled broadly, showing off pointed teeth, "Nice to meet you as well. Boys, pack the supplies." Aarvo turned to them, "I believe Sascha can show you to your room."

He bowed slightly, "Of course."

Sascha led Nara into the crew section of the _Calculated Risk_ and showed Nara to her room. Like his it was bassically just the definition of functional. A bed. A sink. A small nightstand. That was it.

"Spartan," observed Nara, after it was just the two of them in the room. "I appreciate you picking out the ship with the nice looking crew," Nara said with a devilish smile on her face.

"No touching," Sascha replied lightheartedly.

"Aww...Maybe just a kiss...from both of them?"

He laughed, "You're so greedy Nara, you can't even decide between two brothers."

"But they're both so cute!"

Sascha rolled his eyes, "Please think of the reputation of the Jedi Order, Nara Nalto."

Nara pouted, "You're no fun, Sascha."

He rolled his eyes, "Let's go home, Nara."


	16. Chapter 16: Reunion

**LordDarthYoda** \- You think _every_ ship is the Millenium Falcon! Calculated Risk is a cool name though. Good news about Tiplee and Aurine as we will check in with them this chapter.

 **Tristin** \- Thanks!

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** I'm looking forward to writing Anakin Skywalker. I always felt that this time in his life was amazingly underdeveloped, considering this is when he learns how to be a Jedi from Obi-wan. And not everything goes wrong in my stories...it just goes wrong _most of the time_!

A/N - So, we are going to be at the Temple for a bit, dealing with some...Padawan issues. The next little arcs will be a bit of fun and a nice change of pace before we head out for the 'final' mission of the book. And now I'm off to watch Moana on Netflix! Huzzah.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Reunion**

After a nice, uneventful ride from Estimar to Coruscant aboard the _Calculated Risk_ , Sascha and Nara went and said their goodbyes to Captain Iloma. The Togruta captain had been very...fatherly towards the two Jedi, which had been nice, considering where they had come from. What hadn't been nice, was the two sons of the captain, Harj and Kanarva, had basically treated her like she was a non-person. She had _maybe_ tried to come on a bit too strong with the brothers early on, hoping to at least start some light, innocent flirting, but the two brothers had shot her down impolitely. It had damaged her confidence more than a little. It always reminded her that while she was considered reasonably attractive by some humans and humanoids, amongst Togruta, she would be considered to be rather plain.

The Captain was putting the final touches on unloading his supplies when the two Jedi approached. The Togruta captain handed a datapad over to an RA-7 class protocol droid, a droid that was often used by shipping companies to check inventories. The droid seemed happy with the datapad and ambled out of the cargo hold.

"Captain," said Sascha, "We'd like to thank you for a pleasant trip, but we'll be leaving you now."

The tall Togruta stepped forward and shook both of their hands in a friendly gesture, "It was nice having two Jedi on our trip, it certainly livened things up on the ship." The Captain smiled conspiratorially, "You sure I couldn't drop you guys off right at the Temple?"

Sascha laughed, "I'm afraid it off limits. We'll find our way home."

"Well, it was a pleasure, Master Jedi," said the Captain.

"Thank you for having us, Captain," said Nara.

"I want to apologize on my son's behalf," blurted the older Togruta. "They…can be rude when they aren't aware of what they are doing."

"It's fine," said Nara, even though it really wasn't. "Thank you, again."

"May the Force be with you," said Captain Iloma.

She and Sascha took that as their cue to leave. Though they were a fair distance from the Temple, the nice thing about Coruscant was that it was the kind of planet where you could get around quite quickly if you know what you were doing. Fortunately, she and Sascha did, so it was not long before they were walking up the steps of the Jedi Temple. Nara was always reminded of how austere and beautiful the building was from the outside. It remained one of the most beautiful buildings she had ever seen.

The steps of the Jedi Temple were patrolled by Temple Guards, but none of them paid any attention to the two returning Padawans as they approached, after all, they could sense that they were both Jedi. Over the years, many citizens of Coruscant had tried to sneak past the Temple Guards dressed as Jedi, but no one had managed to get past the watchful eye of the protectors of the Temple. As it turned out, it was pretty hard to fake Force-sensitivity.

She and Sascha first went to the reception area, an area that was usually manned by a Padawan, to confirm that they had arrived safely. There wasn't much bureaucracy in the Jedi Temple, generally Jedi were trusted to be able to handle their own affairs. But because the senior Jedi needed to know who was available to go on a mission,so all Jedi returning from a mission were expected to check in and file a mission report. She and Sascha had worked on the mission report on the way back, so it was mostly done, all they had to do now was check in.

When they saw which Padawan was currently seated behind the large, half-circle of a table, Sascha broke out in a wide smile. "Tyra!" he shouted.

The brown haired girl, stood, a wide smile adorning her face, "Hey Sascha!"

Tyra jumped over the table effortlessly and stood face to face with her best friend. Tyra had aged a little since the last time Nara had saw her. She hadn't grown and was still whip thin, but her cheekbones had become slightly more defined and her other features a little more mature. Compared to Sascha, who still looked a bit boyish, Tyra really seemed like she was an older sibling to Sascha. Nara wasn't on the greatest of terms with Tyra, she considered her to be more of a acquaintance then a friend.

The two longtime friends stood there for a moment, torn, oddly, by what appeared to be indecision. Sascha pulled Tyra in for a quick, friendly hug, one that was returned somewhat coldly by Tyra. The message was clear; the two of them had some issues to work out.

Tyra turned her attention towards her, "Hey, Nara."

"Tyra. How's it going?"

Tyra shrugged slightly, "Boring, just manning the front desk for a few more hours." Tyra turned her attention back to Sascha, "But maybe it just got better. Sascha, we should go catch up."

"Aren't you going to be stuck here for a few hours?" he responded.

"Well...if Nara would like to take over my duties for a few hours, we could go and catch up and get some food from the refectory," said Tyra.

Nara swallowed a biting retort, she had been looking forward to spending more time with Sascha and enjoying a return to the Temple, not sitting at a desk for several hours when she hadn't been assigned to do so. Really, it was so presumptuous of Tyra to even suggest that she take over her duties.

"That sounds great," said Sascha, oblivious to her own thoughts on the matter.

"But..." she said.

Tyra smiled sweetly at her, "I'll make it up to you. How about we spar tomorrow? I've been getting some advanced training these days, I can probably teach you some things."

Nara gritted her teeth. Give _her_ some sparring tips? What was she suggesting? That she was so much better than her that she could act as a teacher? What the kriff? Nara didn't know if Tyra was being insulting on purpose, but she was certainly insulted.

Sascha put a hand gently on her back, "Would you please do it, Nara? You know I haven't seen Tyra in more than a year."

Nara really didn't want to do it. She didn't want to do Tyra a favour after she had acted like this. But Sascha was hard to turn down. If she considered it to be a favour to Sascha, she could swallow it.

"Okay, I'll do it," she said, regretting the words almost as soon as they were out of her mouth.

"Thanks, Nara. I owe you one," said Tyra, only half paying attention to her. Tyra's attention was clearly focused on Sascha. "Come on, Sascha. I have to tell you about the time I got attacked by a giant Crackclaw on Wrysti."

Sascha's eyes widened, "And you're still standing here with all of limbs attached? I have to hear this story!" As the two human Padawans walked towards the interior of the Temple, Sascha turned, "Thanks for this, Nara."

"It's nothing," Nara lied.

The Togruta watched the two old friends walked away from her, leaving her all alone, manning this stupid desk for the next several hours. Some friends. She sighed. That little episode had reminded her of one thing she had tried to avoid. Sascha might be her best friend...but she wasn't Sascha's best friend, was she? She was just a temporary Tyra replacement.

"I hate this," she muttered to herself as she took the seat of a Padawan that she currently despised.

* * *

Sascha Whitestar was in a very, very good mood. Being reunited with Tyra had been a moment that he had been playing in his mind for almost a year. Ever since their break up after the events of Bothawui (where they had declared their feelings for each other), they had only exchanged brief messages back and forth, and now this was the first time Sascha had seen his friend in...more than a year. Almost two. But it felt like more.

Tyra hadn't changed that much physically, she just looked her age now, which was nineteen, almost twenty. She still wore a simple beige robe and a look of intensity that would only soften for moments when she was looking at him. Tyra's brown hair was pulled into a martial looking ponytail, as it usually was. It gave her a severe look in totality, but that was by design. Tyra wasn't in the business of making anyone feel at ease.

After Tyra regaled him with the story of how she escaped a Crackclaw (a 14 foot tall monster, with 4 crablike appendages in addition to its 22 legs) that seemed to involve a lot of lightsaber based heroics which seemed almost impossible. But as Tyra wasn't exactly prone to gloating, Sascha believed that it was all true. Such a hero, was Tyra Harker.

"I probably would have died on twenty two separate occasions if I tried to do that," he observed lightly.

"Aw, come on, Sascha, you still playing the 'I'm a poor, weak, Jedi' card?"

"No," he said defensively. "I just realize that there is a large gulf in talent between the two of us."

Tyra nodded solemnly, "As long as you aren't putting yourself down,"

He cracked a smile, "Tyra Harker, I've fought a war, I've fought Mandalorians, and potential dark Jedi. I've danced with pretty girls, I've befriended celebrities. I've nearly died on about seventeen different occasions. I'm pretty comfortable with who I am at this point in my life."

Tyra smiled, a smile that still stopped his heart a little, but not nearly as much as it had when he was younger. The feelings might have still been there, but they were kind of manageable now.

"You were a bit brusque back there with Nara," said Sascha observed.

"Oh, come on. She's Nara, she'll be fine. She's a tough little Togruta right?" said Tyra.

"Of course she's tough, but you kind of blew her off. She's sensitive to that sort of thing."

Tyra finally looked apologetic, "I guess in my euphoria at seeing you again, I kind of just wanted Nara to go away. I'll apologize to her tomorrow when I spar with her."

"Thanks Tyra."

The two Jedi got some small snacks from the refectory and grabbed a seat at an open table.

"So...are we...good?" asked Tyra.

His mouth twitched unintentionally, "I think so. But I don't know if we can go back to the way things were. I think we both know things have changed."

Tyra's face darkened slightly, "We are still friends, right?"

"Of course, Tyra. There's no force in the galaxy that can destroy that."

"We almost destroyed it ourselves," she observed.

"Well…that's true. I like to think that we still remained friends though."

"Did we though? We barely talked for a year or more afterwards. I haven't seen you in almost two years. That's not what friend's do."

This was a painful subject for Sascha. Tyra had been his first love and best friend for so many years, then she had disappeared, leaving him broken. It had taken him almost a month and Nara's good advice to get himself back on track. It felt at times like he had moved on from Tyra. But there was no way he could feel that way now, with Tyra sitting across from him. This was like slipping into a comfortable old pair of slippers. There was a comfort here. Just him and Tyra. Just like it always was.

"Whatever we were, we are friends now," he said.

Tyra smiled, "We are." She tossed her ponytail to one side, "So, where'd you come back from with Nara? I heard you went on a mission together."

"Estimar," he replied. "We were sent together to peacefully deal with a group of students with...anti-Jedi leanings."

"Leanings?"

"They were a bit stronger than that," he admitted. "They were not fans of the Jedi. But after Nara and I left, I think they had a bit more positive view of the Jedi Order."

"Did you bribe them with candy and sweets?" asked Tyra with a wry smile.

"We actually...sort of challenged the leaders of the anti-Jedi group to a debate," he said, feeling kind of silly. Spoken out loud the whole thing sounded ridiculous.

"I hope you won," Tyra said, still smiling.

"I don't know if anyone 'won. we did enough," said Sascha. "I'm sure there's some footage of our debate out there on the Holonet. You can watch Nara and I debate and decide for yourself if we won."

"You let Nara debate with you?" asked Tyra. "No offense...but between the two of you, you are the intellectual."

Sascha didn't really appreciate the slight against his friend, "Nara held her own, I'll have you know." He shot Tyra a stern glance, "What do you have against Nara anyway?"

"She replaced me, didn't she," Tyra said, trying and failing to keep a hurt look off of her face.

Well, that explained the past hour. Tyra was...jealous of Nara? That didn't make a lick of sense. It wasn't like there was some sort of artificial cap on how many friends you could have. "I don't know if anyone can replace you, Tyra. But she's a good friend. She's a good partner for me. I needed her and she needed me. It's not like us being friends has impacted our relationship. I'm allowed to have more than one good friend."

"I feel like I've been replaced," said Tyra, as she stared down at the table. "The way you banter with her, the way you seem to be just happier with her around, it reminds me of the way we used to be."

"You have not been replaced Tyra," he said. "You're Tyra Harker. I'm Sascha Whitestar. We are going to be friends until the day we die. I'm pretty sure that is written down somewhere."

Tyra smiled weakly, "I've missed you, Sascha."

"I've missed you, Tyra. But we can't be dependent on each other. That's what I learned."

"Yeah," Tyra agreed as she slowly picked at her food. "It was good that I was on my own for a while. It made me independent. But it also made me miss being a part of a group too."

Sasha took a swig of his drink and swallowed before answering, "It's about balance, Tyra. That's the number one thing I've learned."

"Balance," Tyra repeated. "Balance is a great concept, but is something that is hard to do in practice."

He shrugged, "So you keep striving for the ideal."

Tyra offered him a little grin, "You're starting to sound wise, Sascha Whitestar. I don't like that."

"I was always wise," he responded. " _You_ just weren't wise enough to see that."

Tyra clutched at her heart, "I am wounded. You have wounded me, sir."

Sascha smiled. It was good to have Tyra Harker back.

* * *

Nara Nalto's mood was worsening by the minute. Each minute she had to be manning this stupid front desk, with its stupid, repetitive tasks she was getting more and more angry.

"Okay, Nara," she said to herself. "Just breathe. You can get through this, you've done it before."

But she was hurt at being blown off by Tyra. Sascha, she blamed less. And, honestly speaking, it was so hard to blame Sascha. He was just so innocent. She was sure that he hadn't meant to hurt her. Tyra? Not so much. She was looking forward to the promise of sparring Tyra tomorrow. She was thinking that she might 'accidentally' land a nice, hard, kick to Tyra's midsection tomorrow. Leave her on the ground, gasping for breath. Force, that sounded good. Justice.

But like most of her (rare) angry spells, her anger tended to burn itself out quite quickly, like a fire deprived of oxygen. But, if more fuel was added to this theoretical fire, it would turn back into a blaze again.

Nara knew that Sascha's friendship was something of a weak spot for her. Not because she viewed him as anything more than a friend but because he was her only really good friend. She had begun rebuilding her friendships with her clanmates, but that was a slow process. Now if Sascha was going to spend time with Tyra, that would mean less time for him to spend with her, and she was not naive to think that Tyra would want to spend time as a group of three. No, she had made that perfectly clear earlier today.

Was she just a temporary friend for Sascha? One easily discarded? She shook her head. Sascha was honest. When he said something, he meant it. If he said that they were friends, then they were. But Tyra and Sascha had history...so much history. Hadn't they both loved each other? How in the Force could she compete with that sort of history?

Fortunately, she was spared from dwelling too much on that lovely thought, as her comlink rang. "Nara here."

"Hello, apprentice," said her Master's voice.

Nara smiled, it was good to hear her Master. Maybe she'd even listen to her vent on the whole...Tyra thing. While the Rishati didn't necessarily like to hear her rant on things unrelated to her Jedi training, she did put up with it occasionally.

"Hi, Master Tiplee."

"I'm here too, Nara," said the familiar voice of Aurine Brynar.

"Hi, Master Brynar."

"Are you with Sascha?" asked Aurine.

"No," she admitted miserably. "He met up with Tyra and they're off somewhere doing...whatever."

"You don't sound thrilled about that," Tiplee observed.

"Tyra was kind of a jerk to me," she said, pulling her arms in close in a defensive gesture.

"Tyra Harker can be abrasive at times," said Aurine. "She's only really friendly with Sascha and her Master. I wouldn't think too much about it."

"I'm thinking quite a bit about it," she admitted.

"You should talk to her," said Tiplee. "I'm sure Sascha will mediate if he has to. He values your friendship, do not forget this."

"Okay," she said uncertainly. "I think I'm sparring with her tomorrow. Maybe I'll talk to her after that."

"Sounds good," said Tiplee. "Tyra is quite a good fighter, I'm sure she could teach you a few things."

Nara's eyes widened. Did her Master think that Tyra was so much better than her? Had she forgotten that she had won the Apprentice Tournament not that long ago? Annoyed, she buried those thoughts down deep.

"Anything else exciting happen?" asked Tiplee.

"No. We flew home with a family of Togruta. They ran a shipping business. I tried to flirt with the boys...but they were not having it," she said, feeling really stupid. Both because she was admitting it to her Master, and again for the fact that the two young Togruta had treated her like she was a leper. Usually boys at least payed some attention to her.

"Well, some boys will always be immune to your charms," said Aurine. "Don't take it too personally."

Nara's mouth worked. The problem was that she _did_ take it personally. Just like that little interaction with Tyra. She shook her head to focus herself, "I don't," she lied. "Anyways, why are you calling?"

"We just called to say that we are going to start on our way back," said Tiplee. "We should have Sascha's ship back to the Temple in about three or four days."

That was good. Having her Master back meant that she could do some more advanced training with her. Lately, all they seemingly had time to do was go on missions. "I look forward to seeing you again, Master."

"You'll have to give us a full debriefing," said her Master. "But from what we heard from Master Kenobi, you and Sascha did well. Oh, and by the way, make sure you go talk to him, he wants both you and Sascha to help him with something."

"Any idea what?"

"Oh, I know exactly what he wants," replied Tiplee. "But it ruins the whole thing if you know."

"Oh that's not fair, Master," she said, laughing.

"Life's not fair," her Master replied more seriously. "We'll see you in a few days, my Padawan."

"Tell Sascha I called," chimed in Aurine.

"I will. Goodbye, Masters."

* * *

"Was that really smart?" Aurine asked Tiplee.

The two Jedi were in the _Emerald Dream_ , waiting out the storm outside. For the past few days, she and Tiplee had been rewarded by their hard work with permission to stay for a few days on one of the Jedi Order's sanctuary worlds, worlds that had been left entirely to nature. She and Tiplee had used their time to relax, and commune with nature. It had been a relaxing few days, for Aurine it had been one of the few times she could truly relax. Sascha not being here had helped. Nothing wrong with her Padawan, he just tended to demand her attention. Now that he was away, and out of her hair, she could just...relax.

Of course, they still had Padawan drama to manage. Sascha tended to have very little drama. Nara..not as much.

"Nara and Tyra's confrontation is inevitable," said Tiplee, who laid down on the couches in the lounge. "They both desire Sascha's friendship and see each other as rivals for that friendship. They were always going to be upset with the other one. I just stoked the fires ever so slightly."

Aurine took a seat across from Tiplee in the lounge, "Is it wise to goad Nara though?"

"No," admitted Tiplee. "But for Tyra and Nara to become friends, and I'm sure they will be, they need to resolve this conflict first."

"You realize, that Tyra and Nara are both very dangerous fighters. If they want to hurt the other...they certainly know how to."

Tiplee rolled her eyes, "You worry too much. Really, what's going to happen? A scrape or a bruise or two? Maybe a concussion at worst? I expect things will get heated between them, and when they cross the line, that's when they'll stop becoming enemies and start becoming friends."

"Unless they kill each other first."

Tiplee sighed, "You are such a pessimist, Aurine."

"I'm not a pessimist," she said defensively. "And I don't actually think anything bad will come of it. But I wonder why you are pushing for this to happen."

"Nara needs more friends. Tyra would be a good female friend for her. They are unlikely to become friends until they deal with their issues. Thus, force them to work out their issues" said Tiplee as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Even though they'll be swinging at each other with lightsabers," she pointed out.

"If I can't trust my Padawan to work out a simple grudge, how can I trust my Padawan at all?" asked Tiplee.

"Good point."


	17. Chapter 17: FriendsEnemies

**LordDarthYoda** \- Tyra was...kind of a jerk to Nara, I agree. It's hard to write conflict where both parties are equally at fault. Tyra's going to enter more back into the story now. Just a bit, but she won't be on the sidelines like she was. As for your Tyra theory - I loved it, and I wish that I had actually wrote it that way, because there's _so_ much potential for interesting storylines. But you'll just have to settle for my inferior imagination! Thanks for the review, as always.

 **Mr. Insane** \- Just keep chiming in with reviews when you feel like you have something to say. Your support is always appreciated. Sascha, as you said, is pretty clueless, otherwise he'd probably try to diffuse the situation. What fun would that be though?

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** Thanks! I wanted there to be some conflict between Tyra and Nara, and that Sascha was going to basically stay out of it for the most part, playing the role of nice, but slightly obtuse young man. I'll explain my Tyra/Nara though process later, as this chapter will show you the direction their relationship takes.

A/N - I don't want to spoil this chapter, but I can say that the next chapter will involve a certain Skywalker, Anakin. I'm looking forward to writing that one. This chapter was also a lot of fun to write ;).

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Friends/Enemies  
**

Nara Nalto woke up the next day, her mood unimproved from the day before. Which was fine, because she had a nice anger therapy (sparring) session scheduled later today with Tyra Harker, which seemed like it would be extremely therapeutic. To start the day, she went on a light jog around the gardens of the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Nothing hugely exerting, just about half and hour of good exercise to get her ready for the day.

Her breathing slightly more laboured then usual and a light sheen of sweat covering her skin, she did some light shadowboxing, picturing her invisible opponent as Tyra Harker. A part of herself realized that this wasn't healthy and that she was focusing far too much on this. But the primal side of her relished the opportunity to prove her worth against a fellow female.

Nara grinned after giving her imaginary opponent a nice uppercut to the head and started jogging slowly back to her room. She was going to show Tyra Harker, and her Master that she was better than just good. She was Nara freaking Nalto, hero of Ubrora.

Nara slowed from her jog into a brisk walk as she turned the last corner before she would get to her room. When she looked around the corner, she saw that already waiting outside her door was Tyra Harker. Nara smiled internally, this was perfect. She was warmed up already and in the mood to fight. Kicking Tyra's butt would be a perfect way to start the day.

* * *

"Hey! Tyra!"

Tyra Harker turned around to see Nara Nalto walking in her direction. Thank goodness. She thought she was going to have to look all over the Temple to find the Togruta. It was going to be a fun, if a bit easy, to beat just a little bit of respect into Nara. Nothing too outrageous. Just making sure that Nara knew her place. Maybe it would be good to teach Nara some things, because if she was going to be paired with Sascha outside the Temple, she wanted her to be able to protect his back.

She forced a little smile, "Hey Nara. Good time to spar? I like sparring in the morning when I can."

"Yeah, just let me get changed. Give me five minutes?"

"I'll grab a sparring room. Come find me when you are ready?"

Nara smiled slightly and used her shoulder to slightly brush her aside as she entered her room. Tyra shook her head as she turned and walked away. So she hadn't been imagining the hostility from the Togruta from the other day.

This was going to be an interesting sparring session.

* * *

Nara had a quick shower and changed into her normal robe before making her way towards the section of the Jedi Temple that housed that sparring rooms. She was looking forward to this upcoming showdown with Tyra. This whole thing felt personal. Tyra had made it personal by trying to subvert her friendship with Sascha. Now she was going to show her that she was not a Togruta to be trifled with.

She found Tyra in an empty sparring chamber, going through a typical kata with her lightsaber held in her hand, but unlit. Nara paused as the door whirred shut behind her. Tyra's excellent speed and technique were evident even in this short demonstration. Which is, of course, why she was doing it. A basic intimidation technique that said 'look how good I am.' Nara wasn't intimidated, but she was cognizant that Tyra was indeed very skilled.

Tyra glanced up at her when her kata was complete, "Hey Nara."

"Tyra."

Tyra bounced lightly on her feet, "Thanks for taking over my duties yesterday. I just wanted to spend some time with Sascha."

"You owe me one," Nara said pointedly.

Tyra grinned slightly, "I'll pay it back right now."

"One sparring session isn't exactly doing me a favour," Nara retorted. "I spent hours at that desk doing _your_ job for you."

Tyra circled her slowly, from a distance, "Well, I thought I'd teach you a few things that I know. I am fairly well known as being a good duelist for my age."

"To teach me, you have to be better than me," Nara responded.

Tyra ignited her lightsaber, "Don't they teach you to respect your elders?"

Nara checked that her lightsaber was set to the burn setting before turning it on. She was _pissed_ at Tyra, but she didn't want to be accidentally lopping off limbs. She wasn't that upset. Not yet anyway.

"Respect is earned, not given," Nara replied. She started circling to her right, so that the two Jedi were now circling in the same direction, sizing each other up, waiting for the other to make the first move. Nara held her lightsaber across her chest in a defensive gesture. She knew from the way that Sascha described her that Tyra liked to be the attacker, so she set herself up for a counterattack.

Tyra lunged in quickly with a couple of probing attacks. Nara batted Tyra's blue blade away with short, chopping moves, but made no move to attack herself. This one was still in the feeling out stage and she had no intention of being caught out.

"How was going on a mission with Sascha?" Tyra asked.

"It was a lot of fun going on a mission with my best friend." Now to draw blood, thought Nara, "How many missions have you been on with Sascha? It must have been a lot since you are such good friends." Nara knew that Sascha and Tyra had never been assigned on a mission together, unlike her and Sascha, who had been a unit often in the past two years. Nara had always been good a verbal sparring, she had toned it down over the past few years, and become more respectful, but the retorts were always on the tip of her tongue. Today, she was letting them out.

Tyra looked hurt for a moment and made a wild, imprecise lunge towards her. Nara took advantage, swatting Tyra's blade away and forcing Tyra backwards with some quality attacking. Eventually, Tyra had to sink to one knee and roll to her left to get the space that she needed. Nara let her have it. There was still lots of things she wanted to teach to Tyra. First thing to teach her? Respect.

"So, how many missions have you been on together?" she asked, breathing slightly harder after her exertions. "Zero, right? Funny, because the our Masters trusted us enough to go on a mission together."

Tyra looked annoyed, and then that look of annoyance faded quickly, "It's not my fault that the troubled apprentice was assigned to be with the Jedi Order's most calm and collected young Padawan as an additional safety measure. The troubled apprentice was _you_ , in case I was being too subtle."

Nara feinted an attack, but she was really annoyed and it took all of her self control not to throw herself at Tyra, consequences be damned. Bringing up the past should have been well off limits, even in...whatever this was. It was certainly not just a sparring situation anymore. "It must kill you that I braided Sascha's Padawan braid for the first time. That's a pretty big landmark in a Jedi's life, and I got to do it with him."

Tyra smiled, "That's funny, because I saw him the day after he got his Padawan braid and he asked me to redo it. Something about you not doing it correctly."

That accusation stung Nara, because that event had been one of the first things that she and Sascha had ever done together. Sascha had been the one that had put on her Padawan braid and that event had meant a lot to her as it had symbolized her ascent from Initiate to Padawan. The fact that Sascha might have gotten his braid redone by his best friend the next day was hurtful.

Nara attacked in a furious barrage, battering Tyra's blade aside and trying to bring it back to bear before Tyra could bring it back. She swiped in wild hacks, trying to batter down Tyra's defences. She didn't have success at first, as Tyra was able to meet her enraged attacks with a sort of cool composure. Nara took one step back and then took a swing not at Tyra's body, but at her lightsaber, almost knocking it form Tyra's hands. But she wasn't done, Nara pivoted on her foot and spun into a kick that landed squarely in Tyra's midsection.

Satisfied that was enough, Nara took a couple of steps back and bounced lightly on her feet, taunting Tyra. Her opponent put a hand where Nara's kick had landed, as if to test the damage that it had done. Tyra shot her a little smile, "Nice."

"Thank you."

"Now I have to repay you in kind."

Nara thrust her chin out as if to say, 'hit me.' "As if you even could, Harker."

And like that it was on. Almost immediately, Nara was put on the back foot by Tyra. The brown haired girl was fast like lightning when she attacked, and she effortlessly slipped in deft feints that threw off her defences. To be honest, Nara was not in the right mental state to be fighting. She was out of balance, arguably they were both out of balance, but Nara felt it keenly.

Nara gave ground and gave ground, until suddenly she felt like the walls of the room were closing in on her. Knowing that something bad was inevitably coming, she forced the lightsabers into a bind and tried to lean on Tyra, trying to force the two interlocked blades towards her. But Tyra was just as strong as she was, and the blades remained at the midway point, with neither Padawan able to gain the advantage.

Then, suddenly, Tyra broke the bind and she spun, letting the lightsabers fall off to the side. As Tyra spun, she brought around a closed fist from an angle that Nara didn't expect and it caught her square on the jaw. Tyra continued to spin and this time spun into a kick that caught Nara cleanly in the midsection.

Knocked a bit silly by the two blows, Nara dropped to one knee. In a normal sparring match, it would have been time to call it quits. This, however, was not a normal sparring match.

So Nara got up and threw a desperate haymaker with her free hand. Her left hand hit a surprised Tyra right on her left eyebrow and it snapped Tyra's head back. Clearly stunned, Tyra stumbled backwards.

With both Padawans a bit hurt, it was no surprise that there was a slight pause in the action. Nara wasn't done with the verbal barbs though, "You like that? I learned that one from Sascha."

Tyra touched her eyebrow where she had been hit, and Nara realized that her punch had opened up a small gash. Blood was slowly seeping down Tyra's face, and it gave her rival a more fearsome look than she already had. Tyra smirked, "Sascha always did fight well when desperate. My skills usually won the day though." The human disengaged and tossed her lightsaber away, "Let's finish this with some hand-to-hand combat."

Nara nodded and threw her lightsaber away casually, "I like that idea."

The two Jedi resumed circling each other. Nara felt slightly lightheaded from absorbing Tyra's spinning backfist and she could tell that she wasn't exactly steady on her feet. Nonetheless, she intended to push through her disadvantage and make Tyra submit to her. Then, and only then would justice be served.

Ignoring the fuzziness in her mind and the little voice in her head that said that she should probably take a step back and stop fighting, Nara stepped towards Tyra and threw three quick jabs towards Tyra's head, then a quick right hook to Tyra's side. Tyra blocked the jabs, but didn't react quick enough as Nara's punch to her body landed true. Tyra backed up a couple steps and then smiled, "That all you got?"

Then Tyra attacked.

Nara considered herself to be pretty good when it came to a straight kickboxing match. As she quickly learned, pretty good was not enough to hang with Tyra Harker. Tyra's kicks and punches came at her from angles she was not expecting and though the power behind them was not overwhelming, she got hit with three blows for every one that she managed to land on Tyra, who would just weave out of the way when she tried to attack.

Before long, Nara's nose was bleeding and she was starting to feel really dizzy. A rational person might have called it quits, but Nara had gone beyond all rationality right now, this was a feral war between two rivals. The Togruta threw a wild right hand out of desperation that managed to catch Tyra on the nose. Tyra's nose started bleeding slightly as Tyra stepped back to wipe it.

Tyra then feinted a kick to the midsection, and Nara dropped her hands to defend it, realizing too late, that Tyra was already spinning to launch a high kick to her head. Tyra's kick caught her square on the jaw, Nara's vision filled with stars and then went black for a moment. Her legs lost strength and she toppled to the floor in a dis-coordinated fashion.

"Get up, Togruta," taunted Tyra.

Nara, even though she was dazed and hurt, wasn't willing to admit defeat, even though she wasn't quite sure that she could stand anymore, so she got on to her stomach and started pushing herself up when a new voice spoke.

"Stay down, Nara," said Sascha Whitestar.

Oh... _kriff_.

Nara managed to get her eyes to focus, and indeed Sascha Whitestar had joined them. Sascha looked tremendously pissed off, more so than she'd ever seen him before. Furious, even.

Tyra took a step towards her friend, "Sascha, I can..."

"Let me guess, you can explain this? You can explain how you're bleeding from a cut above your eyebrow and how you were just taunting Nara to get up after you clearly hurt her? What the hell are you two doing?"

"Sascha," she said weakly

"Shut up, Nara. You know, I thought it would be fun to see my two best friends spar together. I even thought that the two of you would probably be friends, after all, these are the two people I trust most in the world. Even though you seemed a bit hostile towards each other yesterday, I just assumed you'd act like rational adults and not like starved animals fighting over a carcass." Sascha took a deep breath as silence reigned in the room, "You're fighting over me, aren't you?"

"No, its..." she said.

"Yes," said Tyra.

"Good, honesty from you at least, Tyra." Sascha's eyes raked back and forth between the two women, "But I'm not some sort of prize that can be won. You're fighting over my friendship? Guess what. You both lost it."

Sascha pivoted on his heel and headed towards the door.

"Sascha, wait," said Tyra. "Please."

Sascha paused and bowed his head, not turning to face either Jedi, "There's nothing either of you can say right now. Just be happy I'm not going to go report you for hurting each other intentionally during a sparring match. Which you both deserve, by the way."

"Are we still friends?" asked Nara, a note of desperation in her voice.

"Not today. Maybe tomorrow," he replied. "But I used to think so highly of both of you. I won't make that mistake anymore." Sascha strode out the door without another word, looking both angry and sad at the same time.

Tyra and Nara both stared at the door, staying silent for a few long moments.

"Well," said Tyra. "We really kriffed that up."

Nara sat up and barked a bitter laugh, "Yup. The worst part is that he was right. Let's face it, we don't deserve his friendship. He's too good for both of us."

Tyra walked over to Nara, looking like she was going to offer her a hand to get to her feet, but Nara had no intention of being helped. Her pride had taken a tremendous beating over the last few minutes, and she didn't want to be touched by anyone. She held up a hand, "Don't touch me, Tyra. Just...don't."

Tyra nodded, stood back and watched as she gingerly got to her feet and walked out the door, staggering slightly on unsteady legs. Hopefully she could get back to her room without drawing any unwanted attention. There when she was alone, she might figure out what to do next.

Her best solution so far was inventing a time machine so she could restart this day from the beginning again.

* * *

Tyra waited until Nara was gone and the she unleashed her fury on a nearby wall, kicking and punching and letting all the pain and anguish that was currently inside of her. She wasn't mad at Sascha or even at Nara. But she was furious at herself. She knew that it was her stupidity, arrogance and hardheadedness that had put her in this situation.

Once she was done letting out her pain and anger, there was nothing left but tears. So she slunk down, pulled herself into a little ball, and cried over the friendship that she had irrevocably damaged.

Once she was done pouring her tears out, she decided that the only thing she could do was fix this. So she picked herself up, brushed herself off and headed towards her Master's room. The first thing she needed to do was admit to her Master that she had badly, badly, badly screwed up. If he didn't instantly ground her on the spot, or kick her of the Order entirely, then she could move on to the next step. Whatever that happened to be.

Tyra decided against cleaning herself up, even though her nose was still bleeding and the cut above her eyebrow hadn't stopped bleeding either. She had 'won' the fight with Nara, but the Togruta had made her mark as well. "You are a _kriffing_ _idiot_ , Tyra. What the _hell_ were you thinking?" She talked to herself, because that made her feel better. Very slightly better.

She made her way to her Master's room and knocked on the door, feeling blood still dripping down her face. She knew that her Master was still meditating at this hour and that Teff was going to be ornery that she was interrupting his meditation. That was fine, because that was all she deserved at this point.

"Who is it?" the voice of her Master, slightly muffled by the door.

"Tyra," she replied miserably.

"Enter."

She entered her Master's room, which was neatly laid out, as usual. What meager possessions Teff Nal'ma possessed were all in their proper place. The blue-skinned Twi'lek looked up at her and then startled slightly as he realized the shape she was in, "What happened to you?"

Tyra explained what had happened and then blew out a long breath, "It was my fault. My emotions got the best of me. I screwed everything up. Now I need to fix it."

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"I need to speak to Nara," she said.

"Not Sascha?"

"Sascha isn't capable of bearing a grudge, as long as I... _we_...fix this."

Teff, though looking stern, managed to find a hint of a smile, "What makes you think she won't just try to kill you? She looks like she tried earlier."

Tyra shook her head, "She's Sascha's friend. That must mean that she feels as badly about what happened as I do."

"So what are you going to do? And why tell me?"

"I need you to give me the code to her door. There's no way Nara will talk to me otherwise. And...I'm going to submit. I'm going to go to her room and just lay down and beg for forgiveness."

"That seems most unlike you," Teff observed.

"I'm turning over a new leaf," she replied.

"Good," said Teff. "I'll give you the code to Nara's door, on the condition that you get some bandages for your face first. Generally its considered impolite to bleed all over someone else's room."

"You give me the best advice, Master."

Teff finally uncoiled from his meditative position, "We will have a talk afterwards about this, yes?"

She bowed her head, "Yes, Master. I know there was no defense for what I did."

Teff rose and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, "Go make this right, Padawan. I'll send you the code to Nara's door in a few minutes."

Tyra bowed politely, "Thank you, Master Nal'ma."

Tyra turned quickly and headed back to her room. She would fix this. She _had_ to fix this.

* * *

Nara Nalto laid curled in a fetal position on her bed in her room. She felt numb. She had acted like an immature child today. Tyra had pressed her buttons, to be sure, but she had _known,_ deep down, that this whole rivalry that they had developed was amazingly stupid. All she had to do was be the bigger person. But she had failed at that. She had been hurt by Tyra, so she had wanted to hurt Tyra back. It was like something out of Dark Side 101.

Nara didn't know what to do now. She had damaged her friendship with Sascha in a way that she hadn't thought possible. And she had proved that she was still emotionally immature. Stupid. Not worthy of trust, not worthy of friends.

She had tried to call Sascha, to see if she could somehow explain herself to him, but he wasn't answering. She had then tried to call her Master, but she was in hyperspace, no doubt in transit here to Coruscant. So there was no one to talk to, no way to make it better. So she was just going to lock herself in her room until she could come up with some sort of plan to fix what had happened. She had very few ideas at this point though.

There was a quiet knock on her door. "Go away," she said.

Oblivious to her words, the door opened. Nara sat up in her bed. Very few people had the code to her door, though among them was Sascha, so maybe it was him. Of course all the Masters had the codes to all the Padawan's doors – there was no hiding from a senior Jedi if they wanted to see you.

To her surprise, the person that walked through the door was Tyra Harker. Nara bristled and put her hand on her lightsaber.

Tyra smiled weakly at her, before she dramatically flopped on to the floor, letting her arms and legs fall akimbo. Tyra closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, exposing her neck, "I submit," she said.

This day could probably not get any stranger if it tried. Nara shook her head, "Tyra, you don't have to submit, to me or anyone."

Tyra kept her eyes firmly closed, "And yet here I am, showing my trust in you. You could end me, if you want, in fact, I think that might be the easiest way out of this mess. Please, accept my surrender."

Nara got up off her bed and walked slowly over to Tyra. In Togruta culture, when you 'submitted' you exposed your neck, just like Tyra was doing right now. It was a way of showing that you had been beaten and that you were symbolically placing your life in their hands. To see Tyra doing that to her felt...wrong.

"I don't need to accept your surrender, Tyra."

"I'll feel better if you do."

Deciding that no harm could come of it, Nara knelt beside Tyra and gently ran a finger across her neck, symbolically accepting her surrender. Then she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, "Now you do the same for me," she said. "I surrender to you."

Nara could feel Tyra's surprise in the Force, but she also gently ran a finger across Nara's exposed neck, while Nara tried to fight against her natural reaction to fight back. One that was complete, Tyra flopped back onto her back, while she got into a sitting position.

"We screwed up real good today, didn't we?" said Nara.

"Yup."

"How do we fix it?"

Tyra opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, "I was thinking that we should become friends."

Nara laughed. Tyra laughed. Then both young women broke into hysterics, laughing as if the thought of them becoming friends was the most ludicrous thing in the entire galaxy. After what had happened this morning, it might have been.

After the laughing fit ended, Tyra found her voice first, "I suppose we should start with an apology."

"Yeah."

"I'll go first," said Tyra. She her hand through her hair, "Look, you know that Sascha and I have complicated history. So when I saw you come in that day together, I saw myself being replaced. Sascha means a lot to me, as you know. And I thought I had my feelings for him under control. And I do, romantically, at least. But Sascha's my best friend, I grew up with him. And now to see my best friend spending time with someone else...it just set off some part of my brain that said that I needed to eliminate the competition." Tyra held her head in her hands, "Which is so profoundly stupid I can't even believe that I even said it."

"I didn't replace you," she said.

Tyra hesitated, "I mean you kind of did. But I should have realized that as Sascha said, there isn't a quota on how many friends I can have." Tyra shrugged nervously, "I've always been kind of like you, I don't have a lot of friends. There's not a lot of people that can deal with my personality. So I kind of panicked when I saw that I might be losing one of my only good friends. My solution though, is not to rely so heavily on Sascha. That's why we should be friends."

"I'd like to have another friend," Nara admitted. "Can I explain why I was so irrational?"

Tyra nodded for her to continue.

"Sascha's...the person that helped turn my life around. You probably heard rumors of what I was like before. It was like I met Sascha, and then I could just _see_ the right decisions, whereas before I always made the wrong decision. Kind of like how it was today," she joked self-deprecatingly. "So many of the best moments of my life have been with Sascha by my side, I have this bond with him that I have with no one else. And then when he saw you yesterday, I felt like I was pushed aside. I was just a Tyra Harker replacement, soon to be discarded for the original."

"So we both thought that we were going to be replaced by the other," Tyra mused. "How stupid are we?"

"We are idiots."

"Do you think Sascha thought for a second about replacing either of us?" asked Tyra.

"No," she admitted. "And that's why Sascha is better than us."

Tyra laughed, "He's got his flaws, but he's got things more together than the two of us do."

"No argument," she said. Nara felt herself warming up to Tyra. She could tell that this was uncomfortable for Tyra to talk about, but she was doing it. She really did want to be friends with her. And though she was prickly, she thought she could learn to work around it. After all, Sascha trusted Tyra. What bigger endorsement could there be?

Tyra sat back, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you love him? Sascha, I mean."

"Yes," she admitted freely. Tyra looked shocked, so she figured that she had to explain further, "I don't love him in a romantic sense. I slept in the same bed as him and I never once felt the urge to do anything beyond just sleep. But I love him for what he is and what he means to me. He's my brother."

"Word of warning, it's not always easy to see him as just a brother," said Tyra, wincing slightly.

"Noted, but I've got it under control, unless he magically turns into a cute Togruta boy. Do you still have feelings for him?" she asked, guessing at why Tyra might have brought it up.

"A week ago, I would have told you no. After how I acted today...I'm not so sure." Tyra looked away, "I really hate that everything with Sascha got so complicated. It was easier when we were eight years old."

"Boys make everything complicated. First you want to kill them, then you want to kiss them," she said.

Tyra Harker laughed, "It's so true. Idiots, the whole lot of them. But very kissable."

"Even your Master?" Nara teased.

Trya made a face, "Ew... no! I meant cute boys!" Nara laughed, but Tyra continued, "Can you teach me something?"

"I'm not sure I can teach you much, except how to absorb a beating from Tyra Harker. That I might be able to help you with. I got good experience at that today."

Tyra cringed, "Sorry about that. You're okay, right?"

"I'm okay." She puffed herself up exaggeratedly, "I'm a tough Togruta. But please give me 48 hours to recover before hitting me again. At least."

Tyra laughed and then seemed slightly uncomfortable, "Could you teach me how to flirt with boys? I always say the wrong thing. I hear from Sascha that you are a bit of a flirt. He says that you're good at getting boys to notice you."

"Sascha has a selective memory. He forgets all the times I get shot down. So I'm not all that good at flirting, I guess," she said. Nara smiled, wanting to be magnanimous, "But I can teach you what I know."

Tyra nervously ran a finger through her hair, "Can we maybe...go out tonight and try your lesson out? I can get permission from my Master to go out. I think it's even ladies night at Foda's"

Nara felt herself grinning, beneath that tough exterior, Tyra reminded her a lot of herself. Which, she supposed, made sense in a way, "Okay Tyra Harker, I'll teach you how to hunt for boys."

The two Padawans stood in front of each other for a long moment. And then if by mutual consent, they fell into a tentative hug. "From enemies to friends in about two hours flat," remarked Tyra. "It must be some sort of record."

Nara broke the embrace, "Well, it'll be a funny story to talk about ten years from now, I'm sure. But what about Sascha?"

"Let him be," shrugged Tyra. "He's incapable of holding a grudge. We'll apologize tomorrow. And then we'll hang out, just the three of us."

That idea sounded amazing to Nara Nalto. "Okay. I'm going to rest, and try to recover from the shellacking you gave me. I'll see you tonight?"

Tyra bowed slightly, "I will be your willing pupil tonight." The petite young woman headed for the door, but paused just before the entrance, "I think that this is going to work out well. I've never really had a female friend."

"Neither have I."

"We'll learn what it's like together, okay?"

Nara nodded, "See you in a few hours, Tyra."

Tyra tossed her a quick salute before exiting her room.

Nara Nalto couldn't quite wipe the grin off her face. Tyra Harker had gone from someone she despised to a friend in a matter of hours. Maybe it would have been easier to have just talked to her yesterday, or today even, but Nara Nalto didn't always do things the easy way. Why would making friends be any different?


	18. Chapter 18: A Chosen One

**LordDarthYoda** \- Them being interrupted by a Master would have been interesting, but they were always going to run into Sascha and that was the most important interaction.

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** Glad you liked it! I could have always written Tyra and Nara to just be friends, but this was more fun to have them have a conflict and then have them resolve it. It makes it a more fulfilling friendship as the readers now know what its founded on. As for Nara's flirting tips, I was actually going to write a whole scene, which, while _a lot_ of fun, actually does nothing for the characters. I still included some amusing anecdotes though :p

A/N - I have nothing.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 18: A Chosen One**

Sascha Whitestar was not in a great mood the following morning. Watching Tyra and Nara beat the heck out of each other yesterday had left a real sour taste in his mouth. He had thought that he could fully trust his friends to...be, well, friends, but they apparently were too immature to do just that. He was going to have trouble trusting them to the same degree he had before. Maybe it would be good to get away from both of them for a while, he mused. He had been hoping for a long stay at the Temple after being away for so long, now he almost wanted to get away immediately.

He entered his favourite refectory, hearing laughter and giggling coming from one of the distant corners of the room. Sascha rolled his eyes and grabbed a breakfast from the front table. When he finally spotted who was laughing in the corner, he almost dropped his plate. For sitting at the corner table was Tyra, Nara, Eida Nascal and Aalya Secura, all laughing and smiling.

Tyra noticed that he was around and waved to him, "Hey Sascha, come join us. We are telling stories about boys, and we could use a male around for feedback."

Sascha was still frozen in his tracks. Tyra looked totally carefree and happy to have Nara sitting beside her, and Nara seemed the same. Tyra's hair was even down. It used to be a common joke that Tyra only knew how to do one hairstyle, her severe ponytail. But today her hair was loose and free. She even had bangs. Overall it certainly made Tyra look friendlier, and less intimidating.

"Yeah, I'll join you, I guess."

Sascha grabbed one of the few free seats remaining at the table and nodded a greeting to both Eida and Aalya. Eida was from Dragon clan and he knew her pretty well. Quiet and unassuming, Eida was a healer that was showing good promise. Aalya Secura, was the same age as he, Tyra and Eida (with Nara being a year younger), and was something of a former rival to Tyra Harker. As outstanding, talented, Padawans they often found themselves pitted against each other. Sascha knew that Tyra wasn't particularly friendly towards Aalya, and he was surprised that she was here at all. Maybe Tyra was letting go all of her grudges at once. Aalya was, well, beautiful, but she carried it well, and he had always found her to be friendly, though to be fair, their paths hadn't crossed much.

"So, you were talking to the cute guys at Foda's," said Aalya, clearly prompting Tyra and Nara to continue with their story.

Nara, who was clearly in a good mood, spoke with a smile adorning her face, "Okay, so we dance together, Tyra and I, and then I notice that there are two cute guys checking us out. So we go back to our booth, and as I hoped, they followed shortly after." Nara flashed a quick smile at Tyra, "And genius over here didn't want to let them join us!"

"I didn't see how cute they were!" Tyra said defensively, but with a grin on her face as well. "The lighting in there was not good."

Nara rolled her eyes, "Anyways, we get the cute guys in the booth with us and we start the small talk. Tyra doesn't say _ANYTHING_ for at least three minutes, despite my repeated cues to speak up. There's a cute guy..."

"...really cute guy," interjected Tyra.

"...cute guy beside her waiting for her to say anything so he can make some sort of move, but she's just a statue. Meanwhile, the guy beside me, is a bit too...eager to get things started. And he's cute, no doubt, and a smooth talker...so I'm into it, but I need to get Tyra to do...something, otherwise the other guy is going to lose interest in her."

"So that's why you got up to dance with that guy?" asked an incredulous Tyra.

Nara's cheeks warmed slightly, showing off a slight amount of red on her purple skin, "Well, I figured if you two were alone _something_ was going to happen."

"And you wanted to dance with your cute guy," Tyra said accusingly.

"Guilty as charged," said Nara. "I _gave_ you all the tips you needed."

"You hoped," quipped Aalya.

"Oh please, Aalya, some of us girls actually need to work to get guys to notice us," retorted Nara, earning a nod of support from the other women at the table.

"I thought it was my winning personality that the boys liked," deadpanned Aalya, provoking a round of chuckles from everyone at the table.

Nara picked up the story again, "So I'm dancing with my guy, and he's got, um, active hands...so I'm trying to keep them around my waist...all the while I'm trying to keep an eye on Tyra, trying to see if she needs my help. Then this guy, Thimar, I can see he wants to touch my lekku, I mean who wouldn't," Nara said, petting her left lekku affectionately.

"You gotta ask for permission first, right?" asked Eida, speaking up for the first time. "I know Togruta are...prickly about having their lekku touched."

"If he asked I would have let him," said Nara, her eyes distant. "But his hand leaves my waist and I know where it's going so I grab it first. We make eye contact while this slow song is playing and then he slowly pulls my hand towards him and kisses my palm." Nara sighed longingly, "I just about melted."

Aalya rolled her eyes slightly, but smiled as she did it. Sascha felt like joining in, as well. He'd seen Nara flirt enough times, he didn't need to be regaled stories of her flirting.

Nara continued her story, "And when I turn around, what do I see, but Tyra Harker and her cute boy with the jet black hair kissing passionately. I have no idea how Tyra managed to go from zero to one hundred in less than thirty seconds. I thought I was supposed to be teaching her, she should be teaching me!"

Everyone at the table laughed. Eida spoke up first, "What did you say to your cute admirer?"

"I just told him that he was cute and I'd like him to kiss me," Tyra said, blushing brightly.

"That's a pretty good pickup line," Sascha drawled.

"I told you to tell them that they are cute and _imply_ that you would like to be kissed. You aren't supposed to just say it," said Nara in mock frustration.

"I got nervous!" replied Tyra. "He was really cute!"

"Well, whatever she did, it worked," observed Eida.

"I think it was the hair," said Aalya. "Having your hair that way makes you look a lot more vulnerable. Cuter. And you give off less of a 'I can beat you up' vibe."

"I like my ponytail," said Tyra. The silence from around the table spoke volumes, "What?" asked Tyra.

"The ponytail is nice," he said, figuring it was his role as best friend to Tyra to mediate. "But it always makes you seem harsh. Having your hair down gives you a...softness that you previously lacked.

Tyra pouted exaggeratedly, "Everyone has the same opinion as Sascha, I guess?"

Everyone around the table nodded.

Tyra sighed, "I'll see if I can get used to the new haircut."

Aalya stirred what appeared to be caf with her finger, "What's everyone doing today? I'm supposed to talk to Master Kenobi about something he wants me to do. No idea what it is though."

Sascha, Tyra and Nara shared a look, "We were told to talk to Master Kenobi today as well."

Eida was the last one to speak up, "As was I."

The Padawans shared a look. "I think we've been set up," remarked Nara.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Sascha joked.

* * *

The Padawans decided that they'd all go together to see Obi-wan, since all of them were apparently part of...whatever was planned for them. The four Padawans found their way to Obi-wan's room and knocked on the door. After a short pause, Obi-wan's door opened. The young Jedi Knight leaned against the door, "Can I help...all of you," he said, obviously surprised by the number of Padawans outside his door.

Aalya crossed her arms across her chest, "Yeah, you wanted to see all of us about some assignment you won't talk about. Well, spill it."

Obi-wan looked somewhat nervously at the Padawans, "Must we do this now?"

"Yes," said Tyra. Despite her new hairstyle, Tyra's voice still carried authority.

"Fine," sighed Master Kenobi. "Meet me in the sparring room I've booked in ten minutes, please."

The Padawans milled around outside Master Kenobi's room, despite the obvious dismissal. Finally, Eida waved a green hand down the hallway, "I guess we better do what the Master says."

"Thank you, Padawans, I assure you it will all make sense in a short while," said Obi-wan.

Fifteen minutes later, there was no Obi-wan Kenobi in the appointed sparring room. Aalya, unsurprisingly, was the first to voice her displeasure, "I had things that I wanted to get done today, and it was not waiting around for Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Me too," said Tyra. "Nara and I had plans to do coursework together."

Sascha, though he probably should have been annoyed that plans were made by his friend without him, just smiled. Tyra and Nara's friendship was clearly on the upswing. His two friends had been chatting back and forth almost nonstop since he had seen them at breakfast. There was an openness there between them that suggested that the two would not just be friends, but good friends. He decided that he could take a back seat for a bit while that friendship blossomed. It wasn't like he was going to be pushed away.

Four sets of eyes turned to the door as it opened, only for four Padawans to groan when two more Padawans walked through the door.

"Thank you, thank you, for that warm reception," said Trig, bowing mockingly.

"You are all too kind," said Doro.

Doro Roa and Trig Daniel, the joking, jovial Padawans that he had grown up with as members of his clan were welcome additions to his life anytime they were around. While both young men were serious when they were out in public, when they were with their friends, they were known as practical jokers, hence the reception they had gotten.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?" asked Tyra.

"Master Kenobi told us to come here, so we did," replied Doro.

Aalya groaned, "If he doesn't show up in the next five minutes, I'm leaving."

"What? You don't want to sit here and have a talk with Doro and I?" said Trig, clearly not serious.

Aalya sighed, "And you wonder why my clan always beat Dragon clan when we were Initiates?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Tyra. "You didn't always beat us..."

"It was just the majority of the time," Sascha quipped.

The Twi'lek smiled, "Of course, my mistake."

Doro and Trig looked around, "So when are we expecting Master Kenobi to grace us with his presence?"

"Soon," said Aalya. "Otherwise I'm going to go to his room and drag him here myself."

"That, I would pay to see," remarked Trig.

"Let's give him five more minutes," said Tyra.

Almost exactly five minutes later, a harried looking Obi-Wan Kenobi entered the sparring chamber, his robes flapping slightly. "Sorry, I was held up by an...unexpected situation," Obi-wan said. He glanced around, "I'm glad you are all here."

"We're glad you could join us," joked Doro.

Obi-wan scratched the back of his head, "I won't be staying long. I'll just be checking on with you throughout the morning and afternoon."

Sascha rolled his eyes discreetly. This was the big event that Obi-wan wanted them all here for? Something he wasn't even going to stay for? What the heck was the point.

"I've talked with all of your Masters," continued Obi-wan. "They all agree that you all deserve some time to relax. So this is what today is. You'll be doing a _Suepbali."_

"Really? A fun _Suepbali_ or a competitive one?" asked Eida.

"I'll leave that up to you. But I suggest that you see this as fun. This room is booked until mid afternoon, and I expect you to use it until then, though feel free to meditate and take lunch." Obi-wan looked at each Padawan, "Any questions?"

There were none.

"Okay I will check in with you from time to time. Maybe I'll see if there's another Padawan that deserves to join you." Obi-wan then turned and left. The door closed behind him.

"I don't get it," said Nara.

"I do," replied Tyra. "I bet you a thousand credits that when Obi-wan comes back to see us, he brings along his little Padawan, Skywalker."

As a unit, the other Padawans groaned. Anakin Skywalker was not a particularly popular Padawan. Young, brash and arrogant, his moodiness was only matched by his pure talent. While the jury was still out on whether or not he was the chosen one, there was no denying the level of special treatment that Anakin got. Anakin seemingly went from Jedi Master to Jedi Master, each one teaching him their specialty. Sascha had even heard rumours that Anakin had been given one-on-one training sessions in lightsaber combat from Mace Windu, which was unheard of for any Padawan. The long and short of it was the Anakin Skywalker was being treated differently, and that simple fact had made it hard for him to make friends, so Skywalker was seen as something of a loner.

"I hear Anakin spars with, and beats Jedi Knights in lightsaber combat," said Doro.

"What? A thirteen year old beating a Jedi Knight?" said Nara incredulously.

"He's very talented," said Aalya. "Some say he might even have more raw power in the Force than Master Yoda."

"I don't believe that for a moment," said Trig.

"Let's not worry about it," he said, standing up to emphasize his point, "We've been given permission to do a fun _Suepbali._ Lets not waste it. "I say we set the computer to its lowest setting and then have fun."

There were nods from the other Padawans.

 _Suepbali_ was the name for a game that they had all played as Initiates, well...it was less a game, and more of a set of rules. Basically what happened was that the computer picked two people to start and picked a random form of combat for the two to compete in. When one person won, that person would continue to stay on to compete against another opponent randomly selected by the computer. If a person managed to beat all of the other competitors, they would be the winner. It was generally hard to do, because beating several consecutive 'fresh' opponents in wildly disparate disciplines was quite a task.

But while a _Suepbali_ could be used as a training tool, it could be a lot of fun too. When the computer was instructed to pick from obscure combat rules, things could end up getting pretty lively. Some of the most fun he'd had as an Initiate were the days where they would just be in a sparring room for hours, laughing and sparring with each other. When everyone agreed to have fun instead of fighting seriously, much fun could be had.

"Lets set it to setting two," he said. "That should keep it fun while being somewhat less than ridiculous."

"What, you don't want to do Prsivian mud fighting, where you can only have one foot on the ground at a time?" asked Tyra mockingly.

"Yeah, particularly would like to avoid that. Last time we fought under those rules, I remember you almost putting a boot through my midsection," he retorted. He had been about thirteen and experiencing some of the disorientation of puberty that had thrown of his (usually good) balance. Tyra had absolutely, and probably unintentionally, nailed him with a great kick to his midsection. It had hurt so much that it had ruined his appetite for dinner.

Tyra smiled at him, "I dunno, I enjoyed it."

"I enjoyed watching it," said Trig.

"Me too," chimed in Doro.

Sascha facepalmed, "Computer, lets get this started."

A computerized voice spoke, echoing through the room, "First competition, Tyra Harker against Nara Nalto, Egyolian wrestling. Only method of victory is pinning your opponent's shoulders to the ground."

"Oh baby some girl on girl wrestling," Trig deadpanned.

"Someone shoot him," remarked Tyra.

Doro grabbed Trig and flung him (gently enough) to the ground. Trig made a meal of it, pretending like he had been hurt. Of course, all the Padawans in the room were wise to Trig and his games.

Tyra and Nara moved to the centre of the room, while the other Padawans moved respectfully to the side. Sascha watched on with a little trepidation. While Nara and Tyra seemed to have resolved their animosity, there was nothing like hand to hand competition that could bring out emotions that once were buried..

Sascha's anxiety proved to be unfounded. The only drama to be found in the Nara/Tyra wrestling match was which Padawan wanted to lose more. To any educated observer, both Nara and Tyra left tons of different openings for the other to take advantage of, yet they both refused to take advantage.

"Booo!" yelled Aalya, mocking the two competitors. Doro, Trig and Eida, joined in with similarly mocking jeers.

Finally, Tyra grabbed a headlock on Nara, conspicuously being careful not to harm her Montrals or lekku, and tripped her to the ground. After a brief scramble, Nara's shoulder both landed on the floor and the 'fight' was over. Tyra bounced to her feet quickly and offered a hand which Nara accepted, pulling herself to her feet. The two new friends grinned widely at each other, before Nara stepped away. Whatever animosity had existed between the two young women was clearly gone.

"Okay computer, next challenge," announced Tyra.

* * *

After a couple of hours of playing, the Padawans returned to their sparring room after eating lunch and having a nice long meditation session together. Sascha was thoroughly enjoying this relaxing day with his friends. It had been a long time since all of them had been together at once and those that were not sparring were swapping stories of their various adventures.

Currently, Doro was regaling them of a story while Aalya and Nara were sparring under _Harokiri_ rules, where the object was to throw your opponent to the ground. Nara was going to be thrown in a few moments, Sascha could see that Aalya was managing to secure just enough leverage over Nara that the Togruta was going to be at the Twi'lek's mercy. Nara being Nara was fighting for everything she was worth though.

"So Trig and I go back to the governor, who we have just rescued from the assassination attempt and he berates us for not saving him sooner! He said if we had managed to warn him earlier he could have saved some of his precious jewels. I tried to explain very diplomatically that we did the best that we could and that we had only discovered the assassin's target minutes before and that we just captured this galaxy renown assassin. But he just kept going on and on about how the Jedi were embarrassing him and only doing the bare minimum to keep him alive. I really wanted to sock him right in the face," said Doro, who was still clearly annoyed by the whole episode. That was pretty unlike Doro. He might have been a bit of a practical joker, but he was a pretty logic driven Jedi in general.

Over in the sparring ring, Aalya had a hold of Nara's leg and was positioning her for a throw. Accepting her fate, Nara gave in to Aalya and she let the blue-skinned Twi'lek throw her on to her back, with the Twi'lek landing just to her side, careful not to hurt Nara as she came down.

"Urgh..." moaned Nara who laid in a daze on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "Darn you and your amazing balance Aalya."

Aalya bounced enthusiastically to her feet in a smooth motion, "I have my Twi'lek genetics to thank for that. That's where I get my sweet dance moves too." Aalya put her hands in the air and did a short dance (which Sascha found very entrancing). The Twi'lek then lent a hand to Nara and helped her to her feet, which Nara accepted easily.

"That's three in a row for Aalya," remarked Eida. "Someone's got to stop her soon or she'll win the whole thing"

"Computer, present me my next challenger," said Aalya confidently.

"Opponent: Sascha Whitestar. Combat rules: Kitharan kickboxing."

Doro held a hand up, "If I can be serious here for a minute. Has anyone else been experiencing the same thing that I have? That people are taking us for granted? That even when we pull off the incredible, the amazing, the downright impossible, that people react with a shrug?"

"It does feel like people don't respect the Jedi the way they used to," said Eida. "When I volunteer my time at the hospitals on Coruscant, it feels like people expect me to be able to diagnose and heal every patient after the shortest of examinations. It is kind of grating."

"I think we tend to remember the negative experiences more than the positive ones," pointed out Tyra.

"That's true," said Nara. "We get so much positive reinforcement it gets lost in the shuffle. People say thank you to me and it barely registers. People make a snide comment to me and I remember it for weeks afterward."

Sascha, as he prepared himself to engage with Aalya, Sascha thought that Nara was right. Positive comments, because they were so numerous, they just got left in the shuffle. As he faced off across from Aalya, he smiled at the Twi'lek, "Take it easy on me, okay?"

"Yeah, no." Aalya replied jokingly. "You don't get to play the, "I'm just a weak Padawan excuse anymore. That ended last year sometime."

"Darn," he said, bouncing lightly on his toes to get his blood flowing. His tactic for this 'fight' was going to be simple, there were two ways to win a match of Kitharan kickboxing, the first was four strikes landing to the opponent's midsection or legs (no blows above the chest were allowed), the second was to put the opponent on the ground with a trip. That was his best chance of winning, Aalya was simply too fast and too good for him otherwise.

"Ready?" he asked the Twi'lek.

Aalya settled into a combat stance and nodded.

* * *

Nara, still smarting a bit from losing to Aalya (she had gotten better at swallowing her pride, but she still didn't like to lose) watched as Sascha circled Aalya.

She had come to admire the way that Sascha fought over the years of sparring with him. His talent for fighting was marginal, certainly not amongst the best of their age. But Sascha was a capable fighter because he fought smart and he used all of his skills to their best effect. Even his verbal skills. By playing down his talents and using his usual 'aw-shucks' demeanor, he had already planted a seed in Aalya's mind that maybe she should be taking it easy on her opponent.

It was an effective tactic. About a year ago, she had lost a string of sparring sessions to Sascha and she had been befuddled as to why that was. She lost to Sascha, on occasion, but she tended to dominate their sparring sessions (admittedly, most sessions ended as draws). But to lose so many in a row was clearly not a coincidence, especially as she had been faring well against other opponents. She had discussed the matter with her Master, because she thought that she might have been doing something wrong. Tiplee had smiled at her and said that there was no problem with her technique, she was simply taking it easy on her friend because she thought that he was below her in skill level. Plus, she hadn't want edto damage their friendship, so she 'let' Sascha win his fair share of their encounters. It hadn't even been something that she was consciously aware of, but now that she had been made aware...she went back to defeating Sascha on a more regular basis again.

Sascha approached Aalya flatfooted, which implied that he was going for a trip – you wanted to be on your toes if you wanted to launch kicks. The Twi'lek bounced lightly on her feet, and moved away from the advancing human. This was probably not going to go well for Sascha. In terms of pure quickness, he was slower than Aalya, who was not powerful, but was very quick. Aalya lashed out with a quick kick that caught Sascha below the knee. One point for Aalya.

Aalya scored the second point quickly thereafter, as Sascha's kick sailed wide. Feeling confident, Aalya tried another kick at Alex's hip. This one, Sascha caught. Aalya's eyes widened as she was forced to bounce on her other foot to maintain her balance. Sascha smiled, "Surrender?"

"Not...yet."

Sascha shrugged and lifted Aalya clean off the ground and then slammed her (as gently as possible) to the ground.

"Aalya's lucky the floor is padded," observed Tyra.

"Aalya is too proud for her own good," observed the Twi-lek from the floor of the sparring room as she stared up at its ceiling. "Aalya needs to know to surrender when she is beaten."

"Aalya should probably stop talking in third person," suggested Nara.

Aalya picked herself up off the floor with a groan, "My lekku are still prettier than yours, Togruta."

She primped her left lekku, "Now why do you have to go around telling lies, Aalya?"

The Padawans all laughed. Everyone was enjoying the playful banter between the various Jedi. This was an easy, laid back day, so far, one of the few she could remember for a long time.

Sascha looked like was about to ask for his next challenger when the door to their room opened. All eyes turned to focus on the two new arrivals. One was Obi-wan Kenobi. The other, was Anakin Skywalker.

Anakin looked somewhat awkward looking, as most thirteen year olds did. With short brown hair and a short Padawan braid, he was dressed in a brown Jedi robe, with hints of black, which seemed like an odd choice of colours for a Jedi. The other thing that was obvious to Nara was that Anakin did _not_ want to be here. Anakin's expression was one of disinterest and almost contempt. Not exactly a great first impression.

"How are you enjoying your _Suepbali,_ Padawans?" asked Obi-wan.

"It's fine," said Tyra in a slightly cold tone of voice.

"Mind if Anakin joins in?" asked Obi-wan.

While the Padawans were too polite to groan or make any outward sign of displeasure, the fact that no one spoke up immediately was something of a sign that Anakin was not exactly welcomed. Nara didn't blame them. For one, Anakin was far younger than them (nearly five years their junior), and none of them would claim to be his friend.

"He can join," said Sascha. "I'm the current champion, so Anakin, because he is a late entrant, will have to spar with me first."

Anakin bowed his head slightly, "It will be my pleasure."

"Oh," said Obi-wan. "Can we change the setting back to something more serious, I want Anakin to work on technique."

Off to her left, Nara could almost hear Tyra's teeth grinding. Fortunately, willing to play the diplomat was Eida, "I think we've had enough of exotic combat styles for today," she said.

The computer accepted the changes from Obi-wan and announced in its robotic voice, "Sascha Whitestar will face Anakin Skywalker. Form of combat, lightsaber – form IV moves only."

Anakin walked towards Sascha and bowed. Sascha returned the bow. Then they both ignited their lightsabers and it was on. First one to score a hit with their lightsaber would be the victor.

It didn't take long for the mismatch to become obvious. Yet, there were mismatches and then there was Sascha Whitestar trying to duel Anakin Skywalker in Form IV. Sascha was limited when it came to lightsaber combat. Everyone knew that. Sascha knew that. So he used what skills he had and he utilized a style that worked best to his strengths. And though it wasn't anything overwhelming, when Sascha was fighting in his form III style, he was tough to beat. Force him out of that style though...

Within twenty seconds, Anakin had already forced Sascha into two desperate parries, and it didn't look like Sascha was going to 'figure out' Anakin anytime soon. After a couple more parries, Anakin danced away from Sascha and flipped over the top of him, kicking him in the rear-end as he did it.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Sascha held on, but Anakin refused to end the fight, drawing out the contest for another minute before finally slicing his lightsaber across Sascha's ankle.

Sascha grimaced and walked back towards the small circle of Padawans gnawing on his lip and looking thoroughly discouraged. Being beaten by someone that young would probably do that.

Anakin Skywalker dominated the next few stages of the _Suepbali_. Aalya was able to defeat him the first time, managing to best him in a spirited duel after he had vanquished both Doro and Trig in short order. Anakin sulked back to the corner of the room and had to be talked to by Obi-wan.

Nara didn't necessarily resent Anakin the way many did. In fact, she saw him as something of a kindred spirit. But Anakin didn't help himself. He could have easily joined their little group with some light humor or even introduced himself. But Anakin held himself back from his fellow Padawans, who were theoretically his equals. Yet Anakin didn't exactly comport himself as such.

Anakin's second defeat went to Tyra. It had been a truly breathtaking duel, and had it been comported in lightsaber combat, Tyra probably would have lost. But in hand-to-hand combat, as the computer had randomly picked, Tyra was stronger than thirteen year old Anakin Skywalker. And of course, Tyra knew how to handle herself in unarmed combat.

The only person that was yet to face Anakin was her. But her turn came in the end.

Anakin had been on a roll, defeating, Tyra, Sascha, Aalya and Doro. So if she wanted to prevent Anakin from 'winning' this game, she would probably have to win. She bounced lightly to her feet as the computer announced, "Style of combat: Form II, Makashi."

Nara groaned out loud. Makashi was the style of 'pure' dueling. It was a style that was rarely used these days, partially because it was only helpful in lightsaber v.. lightsaber combat, which was something that didn't happen very often. It's emphasis on precise footwork and attacking from angles was not her style. She liked to be wild, unpredictable. But she'd suck it up, because she _really_ wanted to knock the smirtk off of Anakin Skywalker's face.

She got herself ready, bouncing on her toes, getting the blood flowing before combat. She would try to take the measure of Anakin before really going on the attack, she decided at that moment. She then ignited her blade and smiled at Anakin, "I'm ready."

The young human twirled his lightsaber with a flourish and then settled into a traditional form II pose. He held that pose only long enough for his Master to see that _he_ knew that pose and attacked.

Nara's first impression was that no one Anakin's age should be this good. Anakin was quick and showcased some good footwork as he forced her backwards. Nara stumbled slightly and then planted her feet, swiping away Anakin's lunging, one-handed attacks. She nodded slightly to herself, it was often easier for young Jedi to learn the art of attacking, then it was to learn defence, so it was time to put Anakin on the back foot.

She stepped towards Anakin, then feinted an attack, stepping quickly to the side and looking for an opening. She didn't find one. Anakin had neatly pivoted on his feet to keep his body parallel to hers. Nara repeated with a similar move, only to see Anakin equal to the task. Needing a new plan, Nara kept up her guard and decided that she would play on the counterattack.

Nara's passive plan almost immediately came undone as Anakin, using his lightsaber like a rapier, forced her into several untidy exchanges. Nara got to the point where she would have backflipped away, but then paused. A backflip was not a form II move. Form II wanted you to keep your feet on the ground, so Nara grit her teeth and dug in.

Nara held on, playing defensively, something that normally didn't suit her. But Anakin had just fought three other Padawans, he was likely to become fatigued before she was. Nara became elusive, denying Anakin any straight up fights, merely keeping him at range and not allowing him to get into a position where he could actually land a blow on her body. She was stalling, sure, but it was the only plan she had at the moment. In a straight up fight, she had no illusions about who would win.

Nara smiled at Anakin, taunting him. Anakin's eyes flashed with anger, and he redoubled his efforts to track her down and get his blade through her defences. Her defence was up to the task though. But slowly and surely it started to crumble. Then without warning it broke.

Anakin stepped forward and bashed her lightsaber away from her body, before swinging his blade back towards her head in a wild, undisciplined slash.

Nara saw a bright flash of blue light burn across her eyes, and then she felt a shockwave of pain go through her entire body as she screamed and dropped to the ground. Then, she only saw darkness.


	19. Chapter 19: The Blind Can See

**LordDarthYoda** \- I think the thing with Anakin is that he's always going to be an outsider. He's just different. He didn't grow up in the Temple, he's absurdly powerful and I think he'd get special treatment as well. It's only kind of natural that it rubs the rest of the Jedi the wrong way. Sure, they'll go on missions with him, but I never got the impression that Anakin has a lot of friends inside the Jedi Order. It's just him, Obi-wan, Padme and Palpatine - which is part of the reason he was manipulated so easily, he basically cares about those 3 people and his mother. It's a tiny list.

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** Anakin is pretty much a killjoy, and he'll pretty much always be a killjoy if I'm writing him...I just...don't like him that much. I always thought the idea of the...twenty-four or twenty five year old Obi-wan taking Anakin as his Padawan was a hilariously bad idea. Like Obi-wan just had his Master die, but now he is going to train the chosen one? It's a bit...crazy. I think eventually, Obi does find out how to best train Anakin, but he hasn't figured it out quite yet.

 **Guest -** Thanks! I don't really use a lot of canon characters, because I always feel inadequate writing Obi-wan or Anakin. I feel better and more confident as a writer now, so I'm happy to include them when I think I can make them do something interesting. As you said, Obi-wan and Anakin are certainly 'elite' Jedi, while Nara, Tyra, Sascha and the gang are average to above average - and there's a huge difference between that.

 **Arctec -** Sorry, cliffhangers suck! Thanks for your review, they are always appreciated.

 **Lime-lensed Lord-** Yes, Obi-wan's existence is basically a tragedy. Everyone he has ever loved of befriended dies. He's forced to horribly maim his own apprentice. The love of his life dies in his arms. The dude basically got the short end of the stick in his life.

 **Nuada Silverhand-** Good news on the Dooku front, as I think we'll be seeing more of him :). You got the timeline right, regarding the age of the Jedi. I think there is a couple of natural ending points, but as long as people are reading, I'll have the motivation to keep this story going. Exploring the Clone Wars does open a _lot_ of narrative possibilities.

 **Sourmilk-** Damn, I knew I should have fit in a good 'high ground' joke in there. I think the thing with Sascha is that he's pretty much accepted that he's not the best Jedi...but losing to a kid when he's basically a young man is galling. And don't count out Obi-wan, he's a bit more clever than he seems in this chapter ;).

A/N - Sorry for the cliffhanger in the last chapter, they are rather lame, but unfortunately necessary in this case. I try to shy away from them, but sometimes...they are the best way to end a chapter. And to make it up for it, we have a very cool character popping up in this next chapter...

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 19: The Blind Can See**

For a second, Sascha Whitestar couldn't believe what he had seen. Had Anakin really just slashed Nara across the face with his lightsaber? Across her eyes? Yes, it was a training lightsaber, so it only burned...but if he had burned Nara's eyes...

Sascha's first thought should have probably been to pick up and throw his lightsaber straight through the heart of Anakin Skywalker, but Nara's health was more important than revenge. He and Eida rushed to Nara's side as the Togruta rolled on the ground, clutching her face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw, Tyra, Doro and Trig rushing to handle Anakin Skywalker.

"I can't see," shouted Nara, through tears of pain. "I _can't see!"_

Sascha's heart was in his throat. But he forced himself to stay calm. He grabbed Nara's hand, "I'm here Nara, I'm here. Just stay calm."

But Nara wasn't calm, she continued to thrash around in agony. She relinquished his hand and brought it back to her face, her eyes. He didn't want to look at the damage that was caused. Lightsaber plus sensitive eyes equaled damaged. He didn't want to know how bad it was, because he wanted to remain calm.

"Sascha," barked Eida, entering emergency healer mode, "I need you to control her. Calm her, if you can."

"Tyra, Aalya," he yelled, "Help me with Nara. Help me control her."

Obi-wan appeared at their side, "We need to get her to the Halls of Healing, right now."

"No time!" yelled Eida. "I'm the healer here. Everyone grab a limb and hold her down." Between Tyra, Obi-wan, himself and Aalya, they managed to pin the thrashing Togruta down slightly. Eida continued issuing orders, "Sascha. I need you to calm her in the Force. I'm only going to get this one chance to put the bacta drops into her eyes. If I don't get it right, the cut will cauterize completely and she'll be blind for sure."

"I'll calm her," he said, trying not to think of the stakes of this moment.

"Quickly, please," replied Eida.

Sascha reached into the Force, finding his connection with Nara immediately. He started sending her calming thoughts through the Force. Memories of just them hanging out and having fun. Memories of the peaceful times, the calm times. While his thoughts always threatened to be dragged into the potentially horrifying present, he refused to let himself be distracted. Nara needed him to be strong right now. So he was.

He kept so focused on sending positive messages through the Force to Nara, that he didn't even realize that it was over. All he saw was Obi-wan picking up Nara and sprinting for the exit, Eida Nascal in tow just behind him.

In the sparring room there was now only Tyra, Aalya and himself. And silence.

"Did that really just happen?" Aalya asked no one in particular.

"Apparently," he said.

Sascha stared at the ceiling. This day had gone from 'fun' to 'nightmare' in about two seconds. "What happened to Anakin?" he asked.

"Doro and Trig escorted him out," answered Aalya. "I think he was in shock."

"Some chosen one he is," Sascha said.

Tyra bounced to her feet, "Come on, lets go see if we can get an update on Nara's health."

* * *

Tyra Harker paced in the waiting room in the Halls of Healing. While the pastel colored walls were supposed to promote calmness and serenity, the effect was kind of lost on her. She was completely enraged by what had happened. And she had commanded Sascha not to let her out of his sight until she was sufficiently calm. Which, at this rate was going to be never.

"Tyra, calm down," said Sascha. "If Eida thinks she'll be fine. Then she'll be fine. Eida's not wrong very often."

Eida Nascal had briefly conveyed the message to them that Nara's eyesight was probably going to recover, thanks no doubt to her quick actions. Then the Carthasian had disappeared back into the operating room. There was still more work to be done on Nara, apparently.

"How are you so calm about this, Sascha?"

"I'm not," he admitted, holding his arms out. "I just know that its beyond my control."

"Nara might have been blinded by that stupid, idiotic kid! I should kill him, I should rip him limb from limb. I should..."

"Probably be _quiet_ ," said Sascha, putting some steel into his voice. "Unless you want to get kicked out of the waiting room and warned about a disciplinary hearing for threatening another apprentice."

"I don't want to be quiet. I want Anakin Skywalker's head on a platter."

Sascha shook his head at her, as if she was some sort of stupid child.

"What? Why aren't you angry, Sascha?"

Sascha continued to shake his head disapprovingly at her, "You know what your problem is, Tyra? You care too much. You don't detach. I care, a lot, about Nara. But you are blind with rage right now. Tell me, which emotion is more productive? My calm, or your anger?"

"You're just going to accept that your best friend might have just been blinded in a friendly sparring match?"

"I accept that things happen, some of which are terrible."

"Then you are _too_ detached," she threw back.

Sascha answered placidly, his eyes searching out hers, "What's the point of me getting angry, Tyra? Can I turn back time? No. Anger burns itself out. It's a useless emotion that just _consumes_. I can't do anything, all I can do is stay calm for my friend. So I am."

"Then why are you here in the waiting room, when you admit you can do nothing?" she asked, exasperated.

He glanced up at her, "I'm not here for her. I'm here for you."

That response shamed Tyra Harker so hard that all the anger she had been carrying just seemed to flush away in an instant. Her knees went weak and she managed to slide into a chair beside Sascha, "Oh," she managed to say.

Sascha gently put a hand on her shoulder, "I know Nara's going to be fine. Or maybe she won't. I can do no more. But my other best friend needs me right now."

Tyra ran a hand through her hair, "I'm a mess, aren't I?"

"You are a very endearing mess," Sascha replied.

"Hah."

"If you wanted to help Nara, you could help me with something."

"What's that?" she asked.

"You could help me finding good comedy programs for her. Nara likes comedians, and Togruta comedy. That type of humor flummoxes me, but she'll want something to listen to while she's recovering. The work would go twice as fast if you helped me."

Tyra barked a laugh, "You're a great friend, you know that?"

"Yes, I do," Sascha replied with mirth in his eyes.

"What would you do if that was me that got hurt instead of Nara."

Sascha smirked, "I'd stay with you day and night, because I'm Sascha Whitestar, and you are Tyra Harker and our strength knows no bounds."

Tyra checked to see if her heart fluttered. It didn't. If that statement didn't get her heart fluttering again, maybe she was over Sascha. Huzzah, she thought with a slight pang of regret, "That's the most romantic thing you've ever said."

"Incorrect," said Sascha. "I once told you that I loved you."

Tyra's eyes widened slightly, "You went there."

Sascha shrugged somewhat uncomfortably, and stood, "It's foolish to ignore the past, so I never try to do so. Come on, Tyra, lets go find some comedies for a temporarily blind Togruta to watch."

Tyra stood, "Right behind you, Sascha."

* * *

Nara Nalto couldn't see.

For the moment at least.

She hadn't seen anything with her own two eyes since Anakin Skywalker had slashed her across the eyes with his lightsaber. But, after a surgical procedure that had done right here in the Halls of Healing, she had been assured that she would see again. Thankfully. Right now there was some sort of device on her head right now that kept her eyes coated in a thin layer of bacta. It probably looked horrendous on her. She was happy that she couldn't see it.

Yet in some sense of the word, she still _could_ see. Her Montrals, which were the hollow horns on top of her head, gave her a sort of passive echolocation that kind of worked as a sort of way that she could see. It was an awkward way to 'see' though, because she could only vaguely sense the shape and size of things. Still, it was better than nothing, better than being completely blind. To be fair, when you had the Force, it was hard to ever to truly be considered to be blind.

The first person that she had talked to, outside of the healers, had been a contrite seeming Anakin Skywalker, who had apologized for his actions. Nara had accepted his apology, feeling like there was nothing else that she could do. She could pout, she supposed. But to what end? Maybe she could have asked to punch him in the face? As satisfying as that thought seemed, it didn't exactly seem like it would improve her mood for very long.

Following Anakin had come her friends. Tyra and Sascha had brought the best gift of all, a lengthy playlist of comedies that wouldn't require her vision to find hilarious. She had good friends. Nara thought she would miss them when they left her side, but she knew that although they were physically not there, that she was still in their thoughts. That was enough.

Her last visitor of the day was the one she was least looking forward to. Pushing through her curtain, was someone roughly the size and shape of Obi-wan Kenobi. Though she couldn't see, she still could use the Force, and Obi-wan's signature in the Force was pretty obvious. The young Jedi Knight was rather powerful, after all.

"Greetings, Master Kenobi," she said preemptively.

Hearing his name, clearly startled the nervous young man, "How did you...?"

"I have the Force still," she pointed out.

"Ah. Yes. Of course." Obi-wan paused, "May I sit?"

Nara waved a hand towards what she thought was some sort of chair beside her bed, "Help yourself."

Obi-wan seemed pensive, ill at ease. Nara didn't know him well, or at all, really, but she sensed that he was having a rather bad day. "I wanted to think you for accepting Anakin's apology, I know he feels terrible," he said.

"No he doesn't," she interrupted. "He's sorry because I got hurt. He's not sorry for the actions that caused it. No Padawan or Initiate would have ever been that reckless, Master Kenobi. We were taught from the time we trained with sticks to treat our lightsaber like it was a deadly weapon. It was _ingrained_ in us. And yet, Anakin slashed me across the face with his lightsaber. Even if he missed my eyes, and went across my forehead, it would have been insanely reckless. But he wasn't upset about that, he's upset because he hurt me. Master Kenobi, I was once considered to be rather reckless, but I would have _never, ever_ done something like that."

"I'm not sure I agree with your diagnosis."

Nara shrugged and crossed her arms across her chest, "Guess I'm not the only one who can't see."

That comment stung Obi-wan, she could tell, "Anakin is abrasive, but he is not malicious."

Nara touched her forehead with her hand, "You don't even see what you are doing, do you? Anakin lashed out because he was annoyed that he couldn't beat me in what he felt was an appropriate timeframe. You've put so much pressure on the kid that he feels like he has to be spectacular in every moment of his life. So when he is flummoxed by a Padawan he thinks he's supposed to be better than...of course he lashes out and takes risks that others wouldn't take."

Obi-wan sighed, "He is a difficult apprentice," he admitted. "Headstrong and arrogant, but also insecure at times. He's difficult to manage."

"He needs friends," Nara said, not unkindly. "You've made his life be about training and fulfilling the impossibility of being the 'Chosen One,' whatever _that_ is."

"I didn't think I was coming in here to be lectured on teaching my Padawan," said Obi-wan, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Maybe you needed it," she said, regretting it almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth. "Sorry," she said.

"I think if anyone has a right to say anything at the moment, it's you," Obi-wan said, vaguely amused.

"When is the disciplinary hearing going to be?" she asked. Whenever there was an incident like this that involved Padawans (or sometimes even Knights), a council of three Masters was convened to investigate the incident and award punishments as necessary. Punishments tended to be on the light side (it was considered enough of a punishment to be even in front of a committee in the first place) but it was a necessary thing to maintain order within the Jedi Order.

"There isn't going to be a disciplinary hearing," said Obi-wan.

That made her sit up straight in her bed, "Excuse me?! How could there not be a disciplinary hearing? I was nearly blinded!" Nara was getting really annoyed now. She knew that Anakin was being held up by some as the 'Chosen One,' but that shouldn't mean that he was except from the normal things that happened to a Jedi.

"Anakin's reputation..."

"His reputation is important," she interrupted and then snorted loudly. "I suppose if the _chosen one_ is going around and blinding Padawans that is probably bad for those who see him as the next Jedi Grand Master in training."

"I understand that you are upset," replied Obi-wan, who was beginning to lose a bit of his trademark charm and calm, "But this decision was made with Anakin's best interest in mind."

"And so I'm chopped vegetables in this scenario? Worth nothing?" she retorted.

"No," said Obi-wan. "That is _not_ how this was decided. Anakin _will_ pay his penance, but given his...celebrity within our order, it is best that this incident remains private."

Nara would have rolled her eyes, but that reaction was something that she was not able to do at the moment, so she had to express her displeasure in words, "So Anakin can learn that he is immune from punishment, boy that is a _great_ lesson to teach your young and impressionable apprentice," she said sarcastically.

"I can assure you that Anakin will be disciplined," Master Kenobi said sternly.

Nara decided that it was a good idea to bite her tongue at this point. There really was no point at arguing further. She decided that she would change the topic, "You planned this, didn't you?"

"Planned what?"

"Oh, come on! You get everyone together to play a game and then have Anakin just drop in on us during the afternoon. This was all a set up." Nara stopped short of saying that he had expected something bad to happen, only because it sounded needlessly cruel after something bad had happened.

"Was it so obvious?"

"I mean...no, but Tyra knew right away that you'd probably show up with Anakin later. Only thing I don't get is...what is the next part to this plan? I assume that you could foresee something roughly like this happening."

Obi-wan seemed to hesitate, "You are being released tomorrow, yes?"

"Yup," she answered, "I need to wear this thing for the next week few days, but I'm physically fine, beyond the whole...unable to see thing."

"Would you be available in the afternoon tomorrow for some sparring?"

Nara laughed loudly, then realized that Obi-wan was serious. "I mean...I guess so. I could use some work on using the Force to sense my opponent in combat. I have one question though."

"Okay."

"What do I get in return?" she asked.

"I wasn't aware that the Jedi Order operated on a system of providing favors," said Obi-wan.

"It doesn't. And yet you owe me. I assume that you want me to keep quiet about this whole incident, so you want something and I want something." Nara smiled, "Let's be Jedi and negotiate."

There was a long pause and then Obi-wan finally answered, "What do you want?"

"I want you to put in a good word for me and my friends with the Jedi Council or whoever makes the decisions about being promoted. Tell them that we will soon be ready to take the trials and become Jedi Knights."

Obi-wan sighed, "I don't think you realize this, but I'm just a Jedi Knight. I can speak to those that make the decisions to promote Padawans, but I cannot guarantee that they will listen."

"They will," she said confidently. "You are Obi-wan Kenobi. Your words carry weight."

"Sometimes I wish they did not," Obi-wan sighed. "Very well, I will hold up my end of the bargain if you do yours."

"You can count on me," Master Kenobi, she replied, very pleased with herself.

* * *

Later on that night, after laughing herself stupid at some of the comedy programs that Tyra and Sascha had picked out for her, she figured that it was just about time to meditate and then just pack it in for the night when she sensed that the Twi'lek healer Vokara Chevwas approaching her little room.

Nara leaned back in her bed, "Hello, Master Che."

"Padawan Nalto. How are you feeling?" Right down to business, as always. Master Che took her job seriously.

"I'm feeling okay," she replied.

"Good. I actually have a favour to ask you."

"A favor," she repeated dryly. She threw her hands up, "Sure, why not?"

"Thank you," said Master Che. "I'll just show Ahsoka in."

"What...what do you want me to do?"

"You'll see," Master Che replied enigmatically.

Nara shook her head. This had been a strange day. Maybe it was fitting to cap it off with something strange as well. Nara sensed the return of the Jedi Healer along with another presence. Her Montrals quickly detected that the other presence was a Togruta, and a young one at that.

"Ahsoka Tano, meet Padawan Nara Nalto."

"What happened to her?" asked the young voice of Ahsoka.

"I stared at the sun for too long," Nara replied sarcastically, deciding that the real answer was far too traumatic to tell a young Jedi. Judging by her voice and her size, Nara pegged her at about age seven or eight.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine," replied the healer. "I'm just going to check on some of my other patients, why don't you have a talk with Padawan Nalto?"

"Okay," replied Ahsoka, clearly a bit disappointed. Nara didn't take it personally.

Nara patted the side of her bed, "Hi, little one. Why don't you join me."

Ahsoka seemed to hesitate before hopping up on the end of her bed, "I like your Montrals," she said. "They have nice markings."

For whatever reason, that little compliment really made Nara's day. "Thank you. I'd compliment yours...but..."

"Yeah," said Ahsoka. "It's hard when you are blind." Nara enthusiastically bounced up onto her bed and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling.

Nara laughed, "Why are you in the Halls of Healing, little one?"

"It's my time for my _Montralia_ ," Ahsoka said proudly.

"Oh... _oh_ ," she said.

Togruta, when they were born, had very small Montrals, ones that didn't give them the passive echolocation that it gave to mature Togruta. Throughout their adolescence, they grew to a more normal size. The only problem was that for the echolocation to be 'activated' a Togruta's brain had to temporarily rewire itself, connecting the senses of the Montrals to the brain. This was, to say the least, a physically traumatic experience and extraordinarily painful. Thus, for this to be accomplished, a Togruta went into a semi-coma during which time their brains were able to reconfigure themselves to use the newly formed Montrals. To make sure that young Togruta didn't fall into a coma randomly, a day before the time Togruta was due to undergo her _Montralia_ , they would get electric shocks sent through their nervous system, which told them that it was time to find a safe place to chill out for a while (preferably while being guarded by their parents or loved ones).

While it was theoretically possible for a Togruta to remain conscious during the entire ordeal, and there had been a handful of famous instances throughout history, it was expected for a modern Togruta to be placed into a controlled coma until their mini evolution was complete. It was a right of passage, an important moment in a Togruta's life, one where they stopped being a child.

Nara herself had once proudly told her teachers that she would try to remain conscious during her _Montralia_ , only for her to give up on that idea when the first electric shocks went through her nervous system. Nara Nalto was brave, but she wasn't stupid.

"So are you here so that you can be put into a coma?" asked Nara. "I can tell you all about the process, if you want."

Nara sensed the young Togruta hesitate. "I'm going to stay awake through my _Montralia,"_ Ahsoka declared.

"Why?" Nara asked.

"To prove that I'm strong!" Ahsoka declared confidently.

Ah, the hubris of youth, "Why would staying awake through your _Montralia_ prove you are strong?"

"Because no one does it," said Ahsoka, as if it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy.

Nara paused for a moment, trying to figure out where she wanted to take this conversation. Master Che clearly wanted her to talk Ahsoka into voluntarily accepting to being put into a coma, and Nara was trying to figure out the best way of doing just that. "Being strong isn't about doing what no one else can do," she said. "Part of being strong is being strong enough to admit that others may know better than you. Pride always comes before the fall."

"Everyone says I'm strong in the Force," said Ahsoka. "I want to prove them right. I'm strong enough to do what everyone else says is impossible. That's the Jedi way."

"The Jedi way also involves listening to elder Jedi," Nara pointed out.

"Yeah," admitted Nara, her voice childlike and innocent, "But none of them are Togruta. Besides, if I don't push myself, I'll never find out how strong I am!"

Nara was finding that Ahsoka was even more headstrong then she had been at her age. Which was saying something. And she couldn't quite figure out how to talk to a younger version of herself. It was time for another tactic, "Do you think you are stronger than me?" she asked.

"Well...I mean..."

"I listened to the advice of the healers and was put into a coma so I could undergo my _Montralia_. And you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because although I wanted to be strong, I didn't want to be selfish," she said. "I made life easier for the healers, because otherwise they'd have to keep an eye on me for an entire day, when their time could be better spent doing something else. I also don't think that the healers would appreciate having a Togruta that was shrieking in pain in the Halls of Healing for the entire day."

"I...don't want to be selfish," admitted Ahsoka. "But can't they..."

"No. Don't ask for others to accommodate for you when you know you are wrong." Nara put a bit more snap into her voice then she intended, so she immediately softened her tone. "But I do know one way you can get stronger."

"How?" asked Ahsoka eagerly.

"You can train with me. I think I'll be at the Temple awhile, and I'd like to do some teaching. Of course teaching a fellow Togruta simply makes sense. And as a former Apprentice Tournament winner, you know you are getting a good teacher."

"And you can teach me how to use my Montrals," said Ahsoka excitedly. Nara could feel and kind of make out that the young girl was almost bouncing on the end of her bed in excitement.

"There's not that much to teach," Nara said, laughing. "They just kind of...work. It'll be weird for a little bit, but you'll get used to it quickly. It's mostly helpful for seeing in the dark."

"That's so _astral_ ," exclaimed Ahsoka.

"But I'll only help you if you listen to the healers, okay?"

Ahsoka seemed to pause, "But you'll help me become strong?"

"I'll teach you everything I know, little one," Nara replied.

" _Astral_ ," declared Ahsoka. "Do you have any stories of adventures you've been on? I'd love to hear some stories."

"Only if you promise me that you'll go right to Master Che afterwards," she said sternly.

"I promise."

Nara smiled to herself, "Okay, lets start with a fun one. Let me tell you the story of how I won the Apprentice Tournament and found myself a best friend, all at once."

Nara could almost picture Ahsoka's eyes lighting up, "I bet you had to beat many tough competitors."

Nara smiled, "I'll tell you about my first round opponent..."

* * *

After Nara completed her story to Ahsoka (who paid rapt attention the whole time, though she did interrupt the story a lot), the young Togruta went back to the healer and submitted to her care. Afterwards, Master Che came back to her room.

"Thank you for doing that," said the Twi'lek healer. "That Ahsoka Tano...she'll be causing me trouble for years to come, I think."

"She's strong in the Force. Very strong," Nara observed.

"She carries it well," said the healer, "Better than some Padawans that have been anointed as the 'next big thing'" she said pointedly.

"I've noticed," she replied dryly.

"She's a special one," the Twi'lek repeated distantly. "Anyways, she was saying that you agreed to help teach her?"

"Two headstrong Togruta training together, what could go wrong?"


	20. Chapter 20: Amends

**LordDarthYoda** \- You and I are on the same wavelength as usual ;). Teff, Tyra's Master is still around - she even had a chat with him a few chapters back. I think we'll see more of him soon too.

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** I finally fit Ahsoka in! Huzzah. She'll probably pop up here and there from now on. She's still absurdly young right now though. Anakin had a lot of problems when he came to the Jedi...and as far as I can see...they fixed approximately none of them, lol.

 **Guest -** Sascha, while he may be average in lightsaber combat, is still one of the best warriors in the galaxy. He's just average in comparison to other Jedi. Don't get it wrong, he can kick a lot of butt if he needs to ;).

 **So Close -** I'm glad that someone caught that Nara withheld Anakin' name from Ahsoka. That would have been a very different first impression... Canon wise, I try to stick to canon as much as I can. We are a few years away from the Clone Wars, and I hope to actually get there with this story, though it may take a while!

 **Lime-lensed Lord-** This will be the last chapter of Nara's blindness. I just thought it would be interesting to show Anakin harming another Jedi an

A/N - Not sure I liked how this chapter ended up. Note to self, writing a chapter through the eyes of a temporarily blind character is very difficult. This will conclude a little mini-arc and we'll be going into the last arc of the story after this chapter!

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Amends**

Nara Nalto was pretty much used to having this...thing on her head by the next day. While it was going to be another day or two before it was removed, she was quickly becoming confident in navigating around with just her Montrals and the Force. Still, she was doing everything a bit slower than she usually did, even simple things like walking down the hall she had to be a little bit careful that she wasn't just going to fall over a ledge and plummet to the level below. That would be an annoying way to end up back in the Halls of Healing (and be the butt of jokes for the next decade).

Earlier today, she had discussed what had happened with her Master. Tiplee had seemed concerned by what happened, and then increasingly upset about what she had described as Obi-wan's 'reckless' actions. With Tiplee going to arrive tomorrow, she was sure that there was going to be some harsh words exchanged between the two senior Jedi. Nara had considered potentially intervening, but she figured that she would let the adults sort it out between themselves. Sometimes you had to realize that you couldn't be involved with everything.

In the morning, she had meditated with Tyra, Sascha and Eida, with the latter subtly keeping a protective eye on her. Nara didn't mind, though. She didn't need the supervision, but she wasn't going to turn away the attention. Eida was a rather nice young woman anyway. She was a bit too reserved to ever be her friend, probably, but she could easily count her as an acquaintance.

And now, in the afternoon, she was marching towards a sparring room, ironically, the same sparring room where she had been hurt the day before. It took a little bit of bravery to enter the room, she would admit (but only to herself), considering that the room held some rather bad, rather recent memories.

She walked through the door to find Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin already waiting. Obi-wan appeared to have been in the middle of a lesson when she walked in, but instead of continuing, the Jedi Knight ended his lesson quickly, turning and offering her a little bow. Anakin flinched a little at her entrance, which Nara noted and then filed away for further use.

"Thank you for coming, Nara," said Obi-wan.

Anakin was a little less polite, "I'm going to sparring against _her?"_ There was a mix of trepidation and anxiety in Anakin's voice, Nara noticed. With her eyesight temporarily not working, she was finding that her other senses were a little heightened.

"Thank you for inviting me here, Master Kenobi," Nara said, choosing to ignore what Anakin had said.

"Actually, Anakin, you are going to be sparring with her. As teammates."

"But I don't need..." said Anakin, before wisely shutting his mouth and starting again. "Who are we sparring against?"

"Two other Padawans that will join us later," said Obi-wan. Nara had a pretty good guess at who those two Padawans would be.

That answer disappointed Anakin, Nara could tell, but he was at least clever enough not to say anything to that effect. "I've never really fought with someone before. At least, beyond doing blaster deflection," he said, obviously trying to offer an olive branch.

And there, supposed Nara, was one of Anakin's main problems. Growing up within the Temple, Nara had worked with many of her peers in many different scenarios, teaching her the very basics at working as a team from a young age. From learning to dance to taking classes together and doing group projects, working together had been emphasized. Even though she had been, well, not the most social of Initiates, she still knew how to work with other Jedi. She got the sense that Anakin wasn't sure how to do the most rudimentary aspects of teamwork. Fighting with another Jedi required a bit of work, but was relatively easy. As long as you were communicating with your partner in the Force, it was easy enough to make sure you didn't impale your partner with your lightsaber.

"We can start with a simple kata, if you want," suggested Nara. There were various two person katas that Nara had memorized over the years, so much so that she could probably have done them with her eyes closed. That particular talent was going to come in rather handy right now.

"I think that is a good idea," said Obi-wan.

Anakin was obviously not thrilled about the idea, but he nodded anyway, "I've been working on the form II kata, _Il Felartiz_. Does that work?"

Nara took a second to remember which one that was and then nodded affirmatively, "That works." Nara ignited her lightsaber and opened a connection to the Force. She would need to be more connected to the Force than usual to make up for her lack of vision. Nara heard and felt Anakin igniting his blade as well. She moved to what she perceived to be about the middle of the room before offering Anakin a smile, "Am I standing in the right place?"

"Little to the left," said Anakin, a hint of amusement in his voice. So the kid _did_ have a sense of humour. Good to know.

Nara shuffled slightly to her left, "Let's start slow."

Anakin obliged moving through the kata at a fairly slow pace, slow enough that she got used to only being able to feel her lightsaber instead of seeing it. She found that her hearing helped a surprising amount. With her world dark, she could hear the buzz of the lightsabers, and she found that her lightsaber had a slightly different pitch than Anakin's, which meant that she could differentiate between the two.

After completing one round of the kata at a very deliberate pace, the two Jedi agreed to do it again at a more normal pace. Then, once she found she had gotten the hang of it, she requested that they do the kata at full speed. Full speed turned out to be a bit too much for her to handle, and Nara noticed that by the end, Anakin was slowing down so that she could make the proper parries. Slightly embarrassing, but it was a magnanimous gesture from Anakin at least.

"Ready for free form sparring?" she asked Anakin.

"Always."

Nara spun her lightsaber in her palm, reveling in how natural her lightsaber always felt. It was a part of her arm, an extension of herself. Even without all her physical senses, she always felt better with her lightsaber in her hand.

Across from her Anakin still seemed a bit tentative, obviously he didn't want to hurt her again. "Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah."

With that halfhearted reply, Nara decided that she would start out on the attack. Her attacks, as you might expect were a bit unrefined, a bit wild. Anakin parried easily, not taking the openings that she knew that she must have been giving him. This went on for a little while before Nara tired of being treated like she was a cripple and attacked quickly, putting pressure on Anakin's footwork. The young man stumbled a bit and she swept his legs out from under him with a kick. Anakin landed hard on his side. "I'm temporarily blind, not useless. Don't take it easy on me."

"Sorry," said Anakin, picking himself off the floor, and actually sounding legitimately contrite for once.

"Anakin, if you beat me, you beat me. I'm fine with that, okay?"

"Okay," answered Anakin.

A few moments later Nara regretted asking for Anakin not to take it easy on her. The talented young Padawan had overwhelmed her defences in a few short moves and then won with a textbook cut across her wrist that was rather painful. Despite being annoyed, she just smiled, "Okay, point proven."

"I'll find a middle ground," said Anakin. "Ready?"

Nara nodded, hoping that Anakin would find a middle ground. Quite frankly, if he wanted to keep beating her, he could...easily. But eventually their sparring found a nice middle ground where Anakin kept the upper hand, but didn't press his advantage too much. It allowed her to occasionally get Anakin off balance, but generally Anakin had the upper hand.

After they had worked up a nice sweat, Obi-wan called a halt to the sparring. "Enough. Good, both of you."

Nara bowed her head slightly, "Thank you for showing restraint, Padawan Skywalker."

"Don't mention it," said Anakin.

"I think your opponents are coming," said Obi-wan.

Nara stretched out her senses in the Force and smirked. Yep, that made sense, she thought. Her and Anakin's opponents were going to be Tyra Harker and Sascha Whitestar.

The two Jedi Padawans (and her best friends) entered the room a few moments later. "Hey Nara," said Sascha.

Tyra was a bit more reserved, "We are here, Master Kenobi."

"Good, please warm up," replied the Jedi Knight.

Obi-wan and Anakin had a little conference off to the side of the room, so Nara just watched as Tyra and Sascha began to spar against each other after doing a brief warm up. Even without her eyesight, Nara could sense that Tyra and Sascha fought beautifully together. While a few days ago that would probably have made her jealous, now she simply accepted it for what it was, teamwork honed through years and years of practice. One day, she and Sascha would have similar level of teamwork. For now, she could just watch in amazement. Later, she'd have to fight against it.

It wasn't hard to see how Obi-wan was turning Anakin's mistake into a lesson and Nara approved of his choice of opponent. Tyra and Sascha's main strength was going to be their teamwork and tactics, in comparison she and Anakin would be stronger in the Force, but more unpracticed at fighting together. She had seen in the past that Jedi that had strong teamwork skills could best Jedi that were better individual fighters. She assumed that this would be the lesson that Anakin would learn. Ironically, it was a lesson that had been taught to her some years ago. Funny how things worked some times.

"Padawans, can you come here?" said the voice of Obi-wan. Nara followed the voice to the middle of the room. Sascha hung around beside her for a moment before he appeared to decide that she didn't need his help. "Thank you for being here."

"Not sure I had a choice," remarked Anakin dryly.

"You did not," replied Obi-wan, rolling with the punches admirably. "Anyways, I'd like to do some work on sparring together in teams. Anakin and Nara, you'll face off against Tyra and Sascha. First team to score a burn wins."

"So I can lose even if I don't get beat?" pouted Anakin.

Nara could have taken that personally, but she was pretty committed to taking the high road, "Win as a team, lose as a team, Padawan Skywalker."

"Well...as long as we win..." said Anakin.

Sascha and Tyra pulled away to discuss tactics, but Nara continued, "Don't worry, they have only been training together since the age of four, I'm sure it will be easy."

"That was sarcasm, right?"

"Yup," she said. "We are stronger in terms of talent, but their teamwork will be formidable. Just follow my lead," she said, dropping into a combat stance.

"Follow _your_ lead? You are blind!"

"Temporarily," she gritted out. "But I'm older and more experienced."

"But..." Anakin groaned, "FINE."

With that ringing endorsement of her leadership fresh in her ears, Nara took up the more advanced position at the front, and Anakin took up a position off of her right shoulder. Tyra and Sascha stood across from them, confident and ready. She hoped that Obi-wan knew what he was doing.

"Begin," said Obi-wan.

Nara stepped backwards, preferring to fight on the defensive at first. Stubbornly, Anakin refused to retreat, as if he thought that taking a single, solitary step backwards was a sign of weakness. Tyra and Sascha attacked Anakin, seeing that Nara was a bit too far away to help him. Anakin fended off the two older Jedi for a moment, and then Nara decided that she would jump into the fray, tactics be damned.

Anakin barely needed her help though. In fact, more often then not, she felt like she was getting in the way. Anakin, weaved and parried like an experienced duellist, making some moves that she hadn't thought possible to do at such speed. Yet whenever she tried to help out, it was like she was parrying a blade that Anakin was already parrying.

But with the numbers disadvantage, Anakin could do little more but fight Sascha and Tyra to a draw. Sascha and Tyra's experience and teamwork simply would not let Anakin beat them both, He was going to need her help to actually defeat the two Padawans, barring some massive mistake from the experienced pairing.

Nara almost got a sense of deja vu, as a wild parry from Anakin almost hit her in the head. Fortunately, she had seen it coming and had ducked out of the way. Nara gave Anakin a little shove, "Watch what you are doing, Anakin!"

"I'm trying to win, excuse me!" he shouted, going back on the offensive.

Gritting her teeth, Nara decided that if Anakin was unwilling to follow her lead, she would follow his. She positioned herself off to his side and faced off across from Sascha. Lightsabers crashed against each other as the four young Jedi tried to create openings that would allow them to defeat the other. Nara and Anakin were still yet to get on the same page, while she felt increasingly under pressure from the attacks directed towards her.

But with Anakin Skywalker by your side, most fights were bound to go your way, eventually. Grinding down on Tyra and Sascha, the two older Padawans started to falter just slightly. And then she saw an opening. All Anakin needed to do was make a simple parry of Tyra's incoming attack and then her lightsaber would catch Tyra across the thigh. Simple stuff.

But Anakin didn't make the parry, instead leaping backwards and away from the fray.

Nara retreated, furious that Anakin had missed the opportunity. But there was no way that he would have missed it. Anakin was good at finding opportunities. That meant he had chosen to not take the opportunity. Nara growled deep in her throat, "Can I call time out, please?" she asked.

"Sure," Sascha wheezed, breathing heavily from the intense duelling session.

"I suppose," said Obi-wan.

"Come out in the hallway, Anakin."

"Is everything okay, Padawan Nalto?" asked Obi-wan.

"It's fine, Master Kenobi," she said, even though that was a complete and total lie.

Nara half-dragged Anakin out the door. Once they were in the hallway, Nara gave him a little shove. Anakin stumbled slightly and leaned against the wall. "What was that for?"

"Everything! Why won't you follow my lead in there? Why did you not follow through when we had the chance to win?! All you had to do was make that one block and then I had Sascha beat!"

"I...I...You wouldn't understand!"

Nara was losing what little patience she had left, "I wouldn't understand what? What is there to understand, Anakin?"

Though Nara couldn't really see, she could sense that Anakin was very emotional, "I have to win! I have to be the best, the best Jedi that lived. I promised my..."

Anakin never said the word, but Nara didn't need him to. Everything clicked into place for Nara. It clicked why she was partnering with Anakin. It wasn't because she was supposed to become a friend for Anakin or anything like that, it was because she was one of the rare Padawans that remembered her mother.

"What did you promise your mother?" Nara asked quietly.

Anakin instantly went into evasive mode, "I didn't say anything about my..."

"I told mine that I loved her and that I'd always remember her," she said. She was leaving out the part where it hadn't actually been her mother, rather it had been a nightmare she had conquered. Small difference, she supposed.

"You...you what?" said Anakin.

"I remember my mother," she continued. "I remember the day when my parents gave me away to the Jedi." Nara reached out with her hand and placed it on Anakin's shoulder, "It's a hard thing to let go of. For me, it made me think that I had to be the best, it gave me drive, but it...it made me push people away. I thought I had to be the best all the time, to make sure that my parents gave me up for a reason. But, I realized that they just wanted me to be happy. What would your mother want?"

"She'd want to be with me right now," Anakin said defensively.

"She'd want you to become a Jedi, Anakin," Nara said gently. "She let go of you, so that you could fulfill your destiny. She must have known that you were destined for greatness."

"You don't know what you are talking about! You don't know me!"

Nara calmly, met Anakin's outburst, "You're right. I don't know you. But I know that I was a lot like you. I wanted to prove myself so badly, that I lost sight of what I really wanted to be and it made me less of a Jedi. I think that's happening to you. I know people say you are the chosen one, so you think you have to live up to that standard...but you don't. You just have to be you, Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin shrugged her hand off of his shoulder, "I don't know who that is. I don't know what I'm supposed to be. Everyone expects so much! I can't be everything to everybody!"

"Then don't."

"What!"

"If you try to live your life by how everyone else wants you to be...then you'll never find out who you are supposed to become. Look, Anakin, everyone knows that your talent knows few bounds. You're destined for things that someone like me can only dream of. But if you aren't happy with who you are, you won't accomplish any of it. You have to, on some level, be able to ignore your expectations. Just be you."

Anakin seemed to physically deflate, "I don't know how to be me. When I was with...mom...I knew who I was...but now she's gone, and its like I don't have an anchor."

Nara quickly sorted through a couple of responses before settling on one, "You should talk to Obi-wan about this. A partnership is only good if both partners buy in. He can help you."

Anakin shook his head slightly, "Sometimes, I'm not sure if Master Kenobi even wants me to be his Padawan. I think he was just forced to take me."

"Anakin, no one is forced to take a Padawan. Just...be honest with him. If anyone knows about dealing with expectations, its him."

Anakin breathed out a long sigh, "I guess."

"Want to go back in?" she asked. "They are probably ready for us."

"Yes...well, I need to say one thing first...I'm sorry...for yesterday," Anakin said. And this time, Nara thought that he actually meant it.

"It's okay. No permanent damage," she joked. "Just don't do it again."

Anakin leaned back against the wall, "I'm sorry I didn't follow your lead earlier. I just...I feel like I have to do everything on my own, or the other Jedi won't believe I'm the chosen one. I'm not good at working as a team."

"Teamwork is a skill like any other, you can train it. And we can start right now. When we go back in there, follow my lead for a bit. Then I'll follow yours. Okay?"

"But..."

Nara, surprisingly, was able to remain calm, "Think, Anakin. What does Master Kenobi want you to get out of this session? He knows that you could probably hold your own against Sascha and Tyra, so what's the point of me being here? He wants you to learn how to work with your peers. That's the only way where this whole thing makes sense."

The was a short pause, "You're right. Can we got back there and win?"

Nara smiled, "Absolutely."

With both she and Anakin on the same page, things went a lot better when the sparring resumed. It didn't take long for her and Anakin to win the first match...and then the second match. Dispirited, but amused at how the tables had turned, Tyra and Sascha fought on, putting up a good fight, but, in all honesty, these were not the fairest teams that have ever been put against each other.

Nara won the last point off a neat little feint from Anakin that had frozen both Tyra and Sascha for a split second. A split second was all that she had needed, cutting her lightsaber across Sascha's outstretched wrist.

"Ouch, _dang_ that hurts!" yelped Sascha.

"Losing does sting, doesn't it, Sascha," she taunted him.

"You'd think I'd be used to it," he said ruefully. Sascha then bowed towards the two victors, with Tyra following suit shortly after, "Well fought."

"Thank you for the match," said Nara.

"Yeah, uh, thanks, Padawan Whitestar and Padawan Harker. It was a good learning experience," said Anakin. Nara supposed that Anakin would eventually learn to be graceful. That was something Master Kenobi could certainly teach him...

Obi-wan came over to the middle, "Thank you all for your participation."

"Can we go?" asked Tyra. "I have work that I need to get to."

"Me too," said Sascha.

"Yes, of course," said Obi-wan. "Anakin, you should head to Master Ratara. He'll be helping you with some history courses."

Anakin groaned but headed for the exit, following just behind Sascha and Tyra.

Nara hung around, feeling like she wasn't quite done talking to Obi-wan for the moment. "Your apprentice is quite a different one," she said after they were alone.

"Different is a charitable word."

"Did that go about as you had expected, Master Kenobi?" Nara grabbed a seat on the floor and decided to relax further, laying down on her back and stretching out from her hands to her toes.

"Not, exactly, though I had hoped something like this might happen."

"Next time you want me to talk to your apprentice, please let me know its because we both remember our mothers," Nara said. "I don't want to be guessing in the dark as to why, of all the Padawans in the Temple, you chose me."

"I feel like you are rebuking me," said Obi-wan in amusement.

"Perceptive, Master Kenobi."

Obi-wan sat crosslegged on the ground, "What did you talk to Anakin about?"

"Mostly I berated him for being a jerk."

"Padawan Nalto, can you please drop the sarcasm for a moment?"

Obi-wan was earnest enough that Nara decided that she would stop sassing him. "We talked about dealing with expectations, fitting in, the pressures of being a Padawan. And yes, we briefly talked about mothers. I don't think I solved anything with him, but maybe I helped him being able to put himself on the right path."

"Thank you, Nara. I am sorry about what happened yesterday but.."

"...Oh, and Anakin apologized. Legitimately apologized this time. I appreciated it."

"That is good," Obi-wan sounded relieved. How many problems had he had with Anakin that he was doing these...stunts to teach him lessons? Nara decided that she'd rather not know.

"I told Anakin to talk to you, to express her concerns to you. I hope that's helpful."

"It will be if he actually does talk to me."

Nara stood up, "Master Kenobi, no offense, but I'm done being used as part of your little games. I hope that you and Anakin make things right."

"I am sorry it worked out like this," said Obi-wan, as he also got to his feet.

Nara shrugged, "I've got a feisty young Togruta to train. Remember the name, Master Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano. Very talented." She headed towards the door, "Goodbye, Master Kenobi."

"Thank you for your effort, Nara Nalto. I shall put in a good word for you and your friends with the Council."

Nara nodded appreciatively and then walked out the door. It was true that she had a meeting with Ahsoka scheduled, but it wasn't for another few hours. She had just wanted to get out of there. Dealing with Anakin Skywalker's issues was well above her paygrade and she didn't want to be roped into it any further. She figured that the next step was for Obi-wan to ask her to befriend Anakin, which she had no intention of doing. Anakin Skywalker's welfare was not her problem.

How important could the so-called 'chosen one' be anyway?


	21. Chapter 21: The Lords

**LordDarthYoda** \- Ahsoka was stupidly annoying for a while in the Clone Wars. Thankfully they toned that done and we are left with a very good character. Don't worry I have everyone's death planned out (as morbid as that is)

 **SpeechBubbleMe-** Yeah, Nara's grown a lot since when we've first met her, and she'll continue to grow rather nicely. No, Anakin does not play well with others. I figure he learns how not to be a jerk in a while, but Anakin is a fundamentally selfish character (who turns selfless at the end).

 **Nuada Silverhand -** That was pretty ruthless. I liked it :P. Prime Vader basically wrecks basically everyone, so if they do run into them, say defending the Jedi Temple..uh...good luck!

 **Cold One Paul-** Nara's last thought : Crud, I guess the Chosen one _was_ important.

A/N - Bit of a shorter chapter, but you might get a hint as to where this one is going...

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 21: The Lords  
**

Count Dooku of Serenno was home.

Unlike most children that the Jedi Order had stolen from their parents, Dooku had always known that his home was not Coruscant, but Serenno, a wealthy planet in the Outer Rim. Maybe that was what had driven him down this path, he mused as he walked slowly down the carpeted hallways of his recently renovated palace. Maybe that first betrayal, that first lie that had been taught to him, had been the one that had ultimately driven him from the Jedi Order.

Dooku shook his head sadly. The Republic was decaying from the inside, and the Jedi seemed to be content to go down with it. Typical Yoda, thought Dooku, sneering as he thought of his old Master. Just like a toad in water, if you turned up the heat slowly, the toad never realized that the water was boiling (and killing him) before too late. Dooku had tried to warn him that the Republic's corruption, malfeasance and wastefulness was only going to drag the Jedi down into the muck with them. Yoda, as he prone to do, ignored him and kept counsel with the Jedi that were either to dull to notice what was happening or too afraid to consider what it meant. Windu, Kenobi, Unduli, Mundi and Plo Koon, each more useless than the last, these were the sycophants that Yoda trusted. Probably because they told him what he wanted to hear. Dooku knew as well as anyone, that when you got old, you didn't want anyone around that challenged you, and Yoda was certainly _old_.

What Yoda hadn't wanted to hear was Dooku's radical ideas. Despite the fact that Dooku had proposed taking certain steps that would have lead to a better future for trillions and trillions of beings, Yoda had prattled on about not interfering with the Republic. As if the Jedi didn't interfere! It was an insane piece of logic from a being who's brain had probably started to shrivel one hundred years ago. Who could know how much was left now.

But now Dooku was free. Dooku was home. And he had discovered something much more powerful than Yoda and his lapdog Jedi. He had discovered true power.

The dark side had always been something that had fascinated Dooku, not because it was supposedly evil, but because it seemed to be a purer form of power for a force sensitive individual such as himself. The Jedi, Dooku had come to realize, were so uncomfortable with the idea of power that they had become blind. Blind to the wisdom of the dark side.

Dooku had been pulling away from the Jedi for years, taking on fewer and few missions, as he came to realize that the Jedi had no intention of fixing the myriad problems that they had, and even less appetite for his own opinions in the matter. He had quietly returned home to Serenno a few years before he had officially left the Jedi. His parents had been gone, but the riches that his family had accumulated had not. Dooku had set about and restored his family's legacy. Which had certainly left him with a comfortable place to fall back on after he had officially left the Jedi Order.

There had been many that had sought him out in the days following his departure. His resignation from the Jedi Order had made news broadcasts across the Republic. Most people saw it as the rebuke that Dooku had meant it for. Jedi Masters did not leave the Jedi Order. Only nineteen others had, in the entire history of the Order, and now it was twenty. But the hopes of his departure making the Jedi Order turn introspective failed. The Jedi that he kept in contact with had said that his departure had been like a stone falling into a pond, it had made a ripple at first, but then it had disappeared into nothingness soon after.

But there had been one very important person that Dooku had met with during that time, a meeting which just might have altered the course of the galaxy.

He had only discovered Sidious' name after a number of meetings, each of which had been more tantalizing than the last. By the time he realized what he was, Dooku was already hooked. And that was how Count Dooku of Serenno, had been seduced by the dark side. Not with a grand gesture or out of rage, but out of cold, calculating truth. It was not exactly something out of a Holofilm. But it was what Dooku had wanted, he had wanted to put his faith in someone or something that saw the truth and wanted to do something about it.

And Dooku had pledged his loyalty to his new Master and the Sith.

And now the Jedi won't know what hit them.

The plan that his Master had put together was breathtaking in its intricacies. Decades of long planning by the Sith had saw them emerge, not at the head of an Empire as had been in centuries previous, but at the head of a _movement_. These new Sith saw the value of cloak and dagger manipulation and had been poisoning the Republic for a long time, in subtle but effective ways. And the best part was, that the Jedi seemed to have no idea this was happening. The Guardians of the Republic were asleep at the wheel. And the speeder was being driven right into a wall...

His Master, Darth Sidious, had realized that even if the Republic became even more of a rotten shell than it already was, that the strength of the Jedi was such that it could keep the rotting corpse alive for decades. And of course it was always possible that the Jedi might actually wake up and take action that would reinvigorate the Republic. Thus, while the initial work of the Sith had been in weakening the Republic through manipulation, lies and deceptive practices, the next part of the plan focused on eliminating the Jedi as a threat. For there could be no Jedi in a galaxy ruled by the Sith.

That plan was two fold. The first part of the plan was to embroil the Jedi in a galaxy spanning civil war that was likely to be as bloody as it was useless. The goal was not to win the war, per se, but to drag it out and show that the Jedi were not the omnipotent force that they had once been. Sidious wanted the drag the Jedi from their quiet little Temple and put them on the front lines and constantly in the public eye. The public, who had been told that the Jedi were the best military force money could buy, would suddenly rendered impotent. As the war dragged on without conclusion, it would be easy to frame the Jedi as warmongers. Once the Jedi were discredited, it would be a simple thing to have them removed.

The second part of the plan was to weaken the Jedi from the inside. Unbeknownst to most average citizens of the Republic, the Jedi Order was prone to vigorous debates and disagreements. Most of these debates were smoothed over in private, and the Jedi, as a rule did not let the public view any of these private disagreements. But with enough leverage, one could create a schism within the Jedi.

And that was what Dooku was going to do.

Though Dooku had never been among the most popular of the Jedi, he _was_ influential. Known for his incisive intellect, Dooku had, through the years, developed strong relationships with a number of Jedi. Mostly he ended up being friendly with Jedi that tended to be outspoken malcontents. Now, what he was doing was conveying to his allies within the Jedi Order that he was going to be forming his _own_ sect of the Jedi.

For those that railed against Yoda's passivity, Dooku would offer them a chance to take action. For those that wanted the Jedi to take a stance against slavery, Dooku assured them that under his leadership, they would be allowed to hunt down slavers and bring them to justice. And to those Jedi who despised the Republic, Dooku would offer them a place where they did not need to work within or on behalf of the Republic.

Those that were loyal to him, and he counted about five or six that he would consider completely loyal, he told to stay put within the Jedi and feed him information on what they were doing, they became Dooku's own, personal spies within the Jedi. He shared everything he learned with Sidious, of course. That relationship was still too new for him to be testing the boundaries.

But, in Dooku's opinion, all he had to do was court more followers and then have them leave the Jedi en mass. Such a big defection along with the rise of another competing institution that housed Jedi would do much to undermine the Jedi's reputation in the public's eye. It would also further the perception that the upcoming civil war was nothing more that a schism between two sides of the Jedi, a war which trillions of lives would certainly be lost.

Little did they know it, but the downfall of the Jedi was in motion. The best part for Dooku would be the moment when Yoda realized that he would be the last Grand Master in the history of the Jedi. His failure would be complete. The lost Master would come home. And this time, he would rule the roost.

* * *

 _The Quarters of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine_

With the last dignitary of the day dismissed, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic could finally don his preferred persona, that of a Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. His staff, handpicked and loyal to a fault, knew that once it reached a certain hour that he was to be left alone, no matter what the emergency.

As Sidious sat in his high back chair, he chuckled at the irony of the current situation. The Sith Empire had fought bloody wars against the Jedi and the Republic, and lost them all. Sure, there had been victories and periods of time when the Sith had been ascendant, but inevitably it had all crumbled down, leaving the Republic and the hated Jedi to claim overall victory.

But now, a Sith, who were supposed to be all but consigned to the dustbin of history, were sitting in the Chancellor's office, and the Jedi were none the wiser. The victory of the Sith, was almost at hand...

But Sidious could not afford to be complacent, he had to walk the same high wire game that he had since he had murdered his Master. It was a difficult thing, running a double life, one could not simply be a Dark Lord of the Sith and the Chancellor of the Republic at the same time, and for better or for worse, for appearances sake, he had to be seen as the Chancellor of the Republic. The arrival of Dooku as his new apprentice was a godsend in that way.

With Maul departed (and what a sad failure he had turned out to be) Sidious had known that he needed a replacement and quickly. There was no room for error when there was only one living Sith. But Sidious had long had long had his eye on Dooku as one of the Jedi Masters that was strong enough in the Force to realistically be his apprentice. Realistically, what were his other options? Kenobi? And interesting idea, but he was far too young and inexperienced. Windu? The anger was there, as was the intellect, but Windu was not someone who did well with subtlety. There were other options, clearly, but Dooku was the best. And the best thing about Dooku was that he was old, tired and just looking for a way to make a mark on the galaxy. Dooku was used to taking orders.

And now Dooku could devote his days to running the vast conspiracy that was the Sith, while Sidious did his best to keep the Republic trapped in gridlock, all the while seemingly like _he_ was the one being slowed down by indolent Senators. Truly, when they wrote the history of his reign, the historians would no doubt amaze themselves with how amazingly his plan went. Sure, Naboo had been a blow, Sidious thought with some distaste, but it had done its job well enough.

Sidious, now dressed in the simple black robe that he preferred when not putting on his 'Supreme Chancellor Palpatine' façade, walked around his home in 500 Republica, a building that housed many of the most important Senators and business people in the Republic. His home, though large, was sparsely furnished. In fact, that was what most people commented on first. For Palpatine, it was a simply display of his personal austerity. He told others that he was not interested in accumulating wealth (in the way that so many Senators came to line their own pockets) so he didn't display any.

The truth of the matter was that he didn't really care about trinkets. The only thing he cared about was power, and he had plenty of that.

Sidious reflected that Dooku was, of course, a temporary stopgap, a Sith apprentice only in name. The former Jedi Master thought himself to be an important man in the grand scheme of things, but the truth was, there were only two chess masters on this board. Darth Sidious and Grand Master Yoda.

The biggest advantage that Sidious had was that he knew exactly who he was playing his game against. He had spent years studying Yoda, finding out who he trusted the most and studying them, until he had a complete picture of his main adversary. Yoda could do no such research on him. Yoda might not even perceive that he was playing in the game at all.

With his knowledge of Yoda, Sidious was able to keep the Jedi Grand Master off-balance. The loss of Qui-Gon Jinn had been intended to destabilize Yoda, and remove from him one of his more trusted (and brash) advisors. Maul wasn't supposed to have died to bring Sidious this minor victory though.

Sidious bounced a fist off the table in front of him. There had been so much potential in Maul. Sidious had trained him from a young man to where he had been nearly his equal in terms of lightsaber skills. Maul had cunning too, and a warrior's intellect. Though he too often went for the brutal when the subtle could do, Maul had demonstrated that he was, perhaps, capable of leading the Sith once his own strength had started to fade.

And then he had proved that he was an unworthy apprentice.

Maul had always displayed a propensity for wanting to test himself against strong opposition, which meant that whenever Maul had happened upon a Jedi, that Jedi had found themselves defeated and deceased, in that order. Maul had always been clever enough to keep his identity a secret though. And as much as the Jedi investigated the murder of one of their own, they had never found Maul.

But Naboo had been Maul's undoing. While Sidious was still frustrated at his setback, he accepted that it was better to have had his apprentice fail now, then fail later on when the costs for such a failure would have been significantly higher. Hopefully Dooku would be wise enough to survive, at least until Sidious could find another candidate to be his apprentice...

But for now, Sidious could sit and wait. The minefield of traps he had laid for the Jedi were just getting started...

* * *

 _The Palace of Count Dooku, Serenno_

"Old friend, how are you doing?" asked Dooku.

"I am well," replied Jedi Master Orin Vali, his tone suggesting caution. Orin Vali was a Jedi Master known for his skill at mediation. Vali was also known as an outspoken critic of the Republic. While Dooku didn't consider him a friend, he was someone that he had discussed his own frustrations with the Jedi and the Republic on many different occasions. Now, for the first time since leaving the Jedi, he was making contact with him. Dooku had contracted a bounty hunter to deliver to Orin Vali a device that would allow them to share an untraceable holotransmission. From what Dooku could tell of the surroundings that Master Vali was currently on a mission. Dooku made a note to reward the bounty hunter, Cad Bane with a further payment.

"This is just a social call," Dooku said, lying. "Just wanted to check in with one of my old friends."

"I'm the same as ever...what do I call you now? Master Dooku?"

"Count Dooku is fine."

"Is that what you are going by now?" asked the sandy-haired Jedi Master. Orin Vali was younger than Dooku by a fair few years, but there was gray in his hair now. Short and bland looking, Orin wouldn't have drawn a second glance, unless you heard him speak – Orin had one of those amazing voices that could draw a listener in. A born orator, to say the least, like himself.

"It was the name I was born into," Dooku replied placidly.

"And a name you liked to remind us of," said Orin. "But forget that, why go through all this trouble to contact me?"

Dooku got straight to the point, "Are you tired of the Jedi Order?"

"I am no more tired of it than I usually am."

"Are you now? I remember you confiding in me that you had considered leaving the Order," said Dooku.

"That was information shared between Jedi Masters," Orin said. "I have no words for one of the lost twenty."

Dooku hid a smile and tried to look offended, everything he had suspected would happen _was_ happening. "Come now, has so much changed between us?"

"Yes," Orin replied simply. "We are no longer colleagues, Count. I no longer know who are what you've become. Instead of coming and talking to me like a _man_ , you send a thug to drop off a holotransciever. All to keep your privacy, I assume."

"I see that I have misjudged you. I only wanted to see if you were interested in having a more serious discussion."

Orin's eyes flashed, "Never."

"I see," Dooku said, in the tone of someone who was eating a particularly disappointing piece of nerf steak, "Well, I have misjudged things, then. Goodbye, old friend. We will meet again."

"Hopefully not."

The transmission ended.

Dooku let the smile he had been holding back emerge on his face. Jedi were so easy to manipulate.

A short while later, Dooku called his Master. As always, the visage of Darth Sidious was covered by a black cloak. Though Dooku could tell that Sidious was slightly on the older side, he had no idea if this was just a face that he chose to present to him. Dooku kept his mind open about the whole thing.

Dooku knelt in front of the projection of Sidious, who was projected above his desk. Dooku's old joints protested at the movement. Age took its toll on everyone, force sensitive or not.

"What is your bidding, my Master?"

"You have made contact with the Jedi Master?" stated Sidious. How Sidious knew that Dooku had just spoken to Orin Vali was impossible to tell. Eagerly, Dooku waited for the day that he had the same powers as Sidious.

"I have. The message has been delivered."

"This Jedi will inform the Council?" asked Sidious.

"He will," replied Dooku confidently. "Orin Vali is a proud Jedi, and one that questions the role of the Jedi constantly. Deep down, however, he is a man of great loyalty. His distrust of the Council is legendary, and that is why when he speaks to them about me, his words will be believed."

"Good," said Sidious, appearing to lean back in his chair, wherever he was. "Putting the Jedi off-balance is key in the next phase of our plans. Now Yoda will send Windu to investigate you. Be ready for him."

"I will show him exactly what we want to show him," Dooku pledged.

"How goes your recruitment efforts?"

"I have five Jedi ready to defect at the moment. Several more are providing me intelligence from within the Temple. I also have some of the civilian workers feeding me intelligence," Dooku reported proudly. "I estimate that within a few months, I could have ten times as many Jedi ready to defect."

"Excellent. This will be the first step in weakening the Jedi Order," purred Sidious. "Keep me informed of your progress."

"Yes, my Master."

The holographic form of Darth Sidious winked away. As always, Dooku found the experience of talking to his Master to be deeply unsettling. But what wasn't unsettling was the idea of making his own Jedi Order, one made from ideas that _he_ had thought of, one that would free the Jedi from the shackles that they had imposed on themselves.

And then Dooku would see where the chips fell.


	22. Chapter 22: The Game Begins

**LordDarthYoda** \- Dooku always struck me as fairly pragmatic, which is hilarious as it turns out that he was, as you said, just another pawn for Sidious. As powerful as Dooku is, he can't even perceive the level of deception that Sidious is capable of. We'll see if any of the Jedi end up on Dooku's side...though their overall fate would probably end up the same as the Jedi's fate...

 **SpeechBubbleMe -** I think the Jedi are about to try to put a stop to Dooku's plans...

A/N - And the wheels go in motion... Early post today because I'm off to a friend's wedding!

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 22: The Game Begins  
**

Sascha Whitestar watched in amusement as Nara Nalto tried to teach her latest project, a young Togruta named Ahsoka Tano. The combination of the two hardheaded Togruta was quietly hilarious to watch, though Sascha tried not to laugh out loud. Much.

"The stance is like this!" said Nara demonstrating a slightly more advanced lightsaber stance than was traditionally taught to Initiates. This was Nara's 4th or 5th attempt to teach Ahsoka the opening stance. Why Nara was bothering to teach a young Initiate such as Ahsoka such a boring lesson was beyond him. But training Ahsoka was Nara's project and thus Nara's show to run. Sascha was just here to be a level head. He was here in the sparring room to make sure the two Togruta didn't kill each other.

"I'm doing the stance!" complained the young Togruta initiate. Her beige robe was probably a bit too large for her, but she would grow into it. The awkwardness of adolescence would soon be upon her...

Sascha sensed that Nara's patience had just about expired, so it was up to him to intercede. "Ahsoka, put your left foot a bit further forward. And turn your hips just a little."

"This way?" asked the little Togruta.

"No," he said gently, "Turn your hips inside."

Ahsoka complied and was now (more or less) in the stance that she was being taught. Nara nodded approvingly, "Good. Now show me kata number six."

Nara moved off to the side as Ahsoka went through the routine. "Thanks," she said to him.

"That's why I'm here," he said, stretching out to his fullest extent. "Are you sure you want her to be learning katas? They are useful, no debut, but I though you might want to try something more fun."

Nara shrugged, "You missed the fun lesson where I taught her some tricks for using the Force along with her Montrals. This was the 'payment' for that lesson."

"You are a cruel teacher," he observed.

"Cruel but fair," Nara countered with a smile.

Ahsoka bounced on her toes excitedly as soon as she was done the kata, "How did I do?"

"You did well, Ahsoka," Nara replied, walking back towards her charge. "But your are not committing to each movement in the kata. You need to complete each one before moving to the next, you are cheating to get through the sequence as quickly as possible. Think of each movement as throwing an attack, you should never attack halfheartedly."

"Break the kata into smaller chunks if you are having difficulty," suggested Sascha.

Ahsoka's large, childish eyes nodded, and she went back to work. Nara came back and observed Nara work from beside him.

"She's good," Sascha observed.

"I can't take much credit for it," Nara said, crossing her arms slightly as she watched. "But there is a lot of talent there."

"Someone's got to refine it," he said. "Might as well be you."

"A ringing endorsement of my teaching abilities, Sascha Whitestar."

Sascha winced, he hadn't meant it like that, "That's not what I meant."

"I know," said Nara, smiling easily, "It's fun to tease you though."

Sascha rolled his eyes. Nara's sassing of him got old sometimes. However, his witty reply was interrupted when his comlink rang. He answered it, stepping away from Nara for a moment, "Yes?"

Aurine's voice. "Padawan. We've been requested in the Council Chambers in twenty minutes. Get ready for another mission."

Sascha pumped his fist, "Yes, Master," he replied.

"Is Nara with you?" Aurine asked.

"Yep."

"Tell her the same thing. Twenty minutes. See you there, Sascha."

"Yes, Master Brynar."

Sascha put his comlink away, and turned to face his friend, "Nara, we gotta wrap this up. Council chambers in 15 minutes," he said, slicing off five minutes to ensure Nara was there early.

"Can I come too?" asked Ahsoka, her eyes lighting up.

Nara turned and knelt beside the younger Togruta, "No, little one. This means today's session is over. I'll let you know if I'm leaving the Temple. Otherwise I'll contact you and we can set up another time to train together."

"Will you tell me stories of your mission?" asked Ahsoka.

"Only if it isn't boring," replied Nara. "If it is, I'll just make something up."

Ahsoka laughed, "Okay, Nara. I'll see you when you are back."

The two Padawans waited until Ahsoka had left before whooping in joy, "Another mission together," said Nara, exuberantly.

"Someone on the Council must like how we work together."

"Our Masters too," Nara pointed out.

"We're a well oiled machine, aren't we?"

Nara smiled and he smiled back, "So good we don't even need to be oiled." Nara paused, "That sounded wrong."

"Yeah. Let's just forget about that one."

* * *

Nara and Sascha met up with their Masters just before the appointed time. Aurine and Tiplee had been back for a few weeks now, but both were getting to the point that they wanted to be back out on a mission, so the timing was proving to be fortunate. Nara had also fully recovered her vision a week or so ago, thus for all intents and purposes, everyone was at full strength.

"I can't seem to get rid of you, Master Tiplee," joked Aurine.

"I'm like a bad smell, or a fungus," replied Tiplee.

"Gross, Master," said Nara.

Tiplee frowned, "Was that not accurate? Several fungus do leave an unpleasant smell..."

"Stop, Master!" protested Nara. Sometimes it was hard to tell if Tiplee was just not understanding the standard social conventions or if she was just annoying her apprentice. Either way, it was amusing to Sascha.

Just before the four Jedi were scheduled to enter the Council Chambers, Sascha hear the sound of a pair of footsteps walking towards them. Then that pair rounded the corner of the hallway and Sascha smiled, "Hello Tyra, Master Nal'ma."

Tyra looked delighted for a moment before returning her expression to one that was more appropriate. "Greetings, Master Brynar, Master Tiplee," said Tyra.

Tiplee nodded towards the new arrivals, "Master Nal'ma, Padawan Harker. It seems like our Padawans have conspired to get us on the same mission."

"It would appear that way," said Master Nal'ma with a hint of a smile. For the tough, blue-skinned Twi'lek, that was about as friendly a gesture as one could expect. Sascha had an appreciation for Master Nal'ma's skills, but he wasn't as openly friendly as his Master, or even Tiplee. Teff Nal'ma was tough, well-muscled and had an intimidating glare, one which Sascha would be happy to avoid. Still, he seemed relatively happy to be here.

Finally, the Padawan that was on duty as the assistant to the Jedi Council for the day admitted them all to the Council Chambers. As Sascha walked in, right beside his Master, he was surprised to see that there were only two Masters in the circle of twelve chairs, just Mace Windu, and Yoda.

Aurine seem instantly off-put as well, glancing around the room as if to expect that more Jedi Masters would appear out of thin air.

Mace spoke first, "Padwan Joca. Please leave us. Thank you for your work today." The confused looking Zeltron Padawan bowed and then exited. Padawans on Council assistant duty usually did not get dismissed, at least in Sascha's experience.

He quickly caught the eye of Nara, who seemed as confused as he was. This was not how things went when brought before the Council. Whatever was happening, it seemed like it was outside of the normal parameters. That could be bad.

"I can put you all at ease," said Mace, folding his fingers together, "None of you are in any trouble."

"And yet I am uneasy," said Teff. Sascha knew that Teff still distrusted the Council somewhat after the whole incident with Tyra and her being assigned a dangerous undercover mission. So he expected him to take the Council, and specifically Mace Windu, to task when given the chance.

"A mission we have for you," prattled Yoda. "One that needed for you are."

"Where are we going?" inquired Tiplee politely.

"Not a place, your assignment is, but a person," said Yoda, his ears drooping slightly.

Six Jedi for one person? That must be a very important person, thought Sascha.

"I know you are all aware that Master Dooku has left the Jedi Order," said Master Windu, frowning. "Recently, we have received word that Dooku is trying to recruit Jedi to a new Jedi Order led by himself. We need to put stop to this. We need to know who he is recruiting and who is loyal to him instead of the Order. Moreover, we need to know what Dooku is doing. Is he going to remain in exile, or is he going to continue to poke and prod at us from afar? The simple question is this – Is Dooku our enemy? If he is and if so, what is he doing and what is his goal? It is your mission to find out."

"That was like at least three questions," observed Aurine. "And none of them are simple."

"Do you want us to thwart his plans or just observe them?" asked Tiplee.

Teff stepped towards the two Jedi Masters, "Hold on. I'm not sure we should be doing this at all. Dooku has left the Jedi Order. He is no longer a citizen of the Republic and thus none of our concern. Even if he _was_ , it sounds like you are asking us, Master Windu, to potentially spy on our colleagues. That is almost immoral."

Mace glanced over at Yoda, who tapped his gimer stick softly on the floor, "Brightest and best of us was Dooku. A grave loss to our Order, he is. But determine his intentions, we must. A Sith, he may be."

"A Sith? _The_ Sith?" exclaimed Aurine. "If we have good reason to suspect that, lets just take a hundred Jedi and arrest him."

"And what of the consequences?" asked Tiplee, rebuking his Master. "We are Jedi, we do not arrest people without sufficient knowledge."

Aurine rolled her eyes but said nothing. Sascha agreed with his Master. If they had enough reason to suspect that Dooku was a Sith, the Jedi could afford to throw out the rulebook for something that was so important.

Mace gestured with his hands, "You see why investigating Dooku is important. We need certainty. We do not have it at the moment."

"Why us?" asked Tyra. "Surely there are many more senior Jedi that could be entrusted with this mission."

Yoda sighed, a long and painful sounding sigh, "Manipulating us, Dooku is. Play his game, we will not. Do the unanticipated, we will."

Mace continued, "Dooku is a fencer. He's well known for his ability to keep his opponent off balance. It also means he is good at reading people. But Dooku has one weakness that he does not perceive."

"Arrogance," supplied Yoda.

Mace allowed himself a tiny smile, "Yes. Dooku has always been arrogant. And because he thinks that he knows us, he thinks that he can play us. He forgets that we are not puppets. What Dooku expects is that I will be placed in charge of the investigation. Instead we have chosen three senior Jedi, along with three Padawans to be our task force. I will draw Dooku's eye, leaving you six with the freedom to do what you need to understand what Dooku is doing."

"I'm still not sure we should be doing this in the first place," said Teff.

Yoda looked down, "Understand your concern, I do. Investigate other Jedi, we must. Trust your judgment, we do."

Mace shrugged, "A part of the reason we wanted you, Master Nal'ma, is that you have been critical of the Council at times. We need both loyalists and skeptics on this task force."

Teff nodded, and put a finger on his chin, ostensibly to think more about that conversation.

"What about the Padawans," asked Aurine. "Why them?"

"Underestimate them, Dooku will," said Yoda. "Barely remember his days as a Padawan, Dooku will. Forget how capable Padawans are, he has."

"Can I raise a question," asked Tiplee. "Why was this done in front of just you two? Why not inform the rest of the Council?"

Mace and Yoda shared a look, before Mace answered, "Because we are not sure who we can trust. Not even the Member of the Council"

"And yet you chose to trust us?" said Teff in exasperation. "I'm a well-known Council skeptic." He pointed to Aurine, "Her Master is basically in open defiance to the Council and has been for the past fifteen years. I fail to see the common thread that would make us such a great choice for this critical task."

"Are you declining?" asked Master Windu frostily.

"I'm looking for openness," replied the Twi'lek. Teff's lekku were twitching in annoyance, and it looked to Sascha like he was deeply upset by the premise of this mission in the first place.

This time, Yoda answered, "Had a vision about this, I did. The six of you, crucial to this outcome, you are. Trust in the Force, I will. Trust in you, I will."

The room was stunned into silence for a moment before Aurine spoke up, "Your faith is not misplaced, Master Yoda. Tell us what needs to be done, and we will do it."

"Our only requirement is secrecy." Mace held up a hand to forestall incoming comments. "I understand that this is uncomfortable, but with the potential of Dooku recruiting from within the Jedi Order, we need to keep this investigation to be tight and contained. No one is beyond suspicion. It is a painful thing to say. But no one would have suspected that Dooku would leave the Order completely." Mace looked past the assembled Jedi and out the window, pausing for dramatic effect, "This is a tumultuous time in the Republic, I don't have to remind you of that. If Dooku creates a public schism between himself and the Jedi, and a significant number of Jedi defect to him, public faith in the Jedi could be seriously damaged. This may not be what Dooku is doing. He may just be taunting us from afar. But we cannot leap at after feint and taunt from a fencer like Dooku. We must find out his intentions, and stop them."

"Stop them, how?" asked Aurine. "I don't even think the three of us could stand against Dooku in lightsaber combat. We don't even know where he is at the moment. We could suspect that he is on Serenno, but he's not exactly giving public speeches."

"We leave the details up to you," said Mace. As we said, your goal is to find Dooku's intentions and stop them. The six of you will have a direct line to both myself and Master Yoda. Any resources that you need will be yours. This is, without a doubt, the most important mission currently being undertaken by the Jedi Order. Act accordingly."

Sascha couldn't really believe this was happening. He, Nara, and Tyra were assigned one of the most important missions in the entire Order? It was insane. It was something he had always wanted, of course, but he hadn't expected it would come like this. Master Yoda said that he had a vision of them doing this mission? Successfully, he assumed. It really boggled the mind. Sascha didn't really like alcohol, but he suddenly felt the need to have a good, stiff, drink.

"Where do we even start?" asked Nara, respectfully.

"Guide you, we will not," said Yoda. "Your mission, this is."

"If I may offer one piece of advice," said Mace. "Split up into teams. I know this sounds paranoid in the extreme, but Dooku will have ways of finding information from within these walls. If you six are seen working together on a secretive mission, someone may put the pieces together. This deception only works if Dooku does not know what is happening, understood?"

"Yes, Masters," repeated the six Jedi.

"You will report to Master Yoda and myself. No one else. No one else is to know what you are doing. Come up with a convenient alibi."

"If we catch Dooku and we see that he is a Sith, what are our orders?" asked Tiplee.

"Capture Dooku, our goal is," said Yoda. "Engage him in a fight, you should not."

"And what about a traitorous Jedi," he asked. "Do we confront them? Arrest them?"

"That will be up to your judgment," said Mace. "I understand that some of you have dealt with...wayward Jedi before. Your judgment there was sound. We would hope for a peaceful result, or something similar."

Mace was referring to his own encounter with Weliss. It was not a mission that he liked to think back on too much. By Tyra's reaction, neither did she, as she cast a glance surreptitiously towards her artificial hand, a hand that she had lost at Weliss' blade. The two of them had succeeded in bringing Weliss to justice, but it had almost cost them their friendship.

"I have one question though," said Tiplee. "Where do we even start? Presumably all information about Dooku is somewhat classified, and probably restricted to members of the Council. Are you going to give us access too?"

"Full access, you will have," said Yoda. "Like Members of the Council, you will be."

"Temporarily," added Mace.

"Even us?" blurted Nara.

Mace folded his hands together and leaned forward, "Yes. But this is not a power to be used lightly. The members of the Jedi Council have full access to the complete, unredacted history of the Order. I would confine yourselves to inquiries about Dooku though. Doing inappropriate searches would reflect...poorly on your chances of becoming Jedi Knights."

"Ah, understood, Masters," said an obviously chastised Nara.

"I must ask now if you accept this mission," said Mace.

"And if I don't?" asked Teff

"You'll be sent on a long-term mission away from the Temple," said Mace, meeting Teff's glare. "Not as a punishment, just so you understand, but we cannot have this news travelling around the Temple."

"I'd say it sounds more like a threat," countered Teff.

"Enough," said Yoda. The Grand Master's voice was quiet enough, but the weight of the words seemed to silence the entire room. "Accept or not. Know, we must."

"I accept," said Aurine. Sascha smiled internally. His Master would always be one of the first into the fray, whatever it may be. No challenge daunted her.

"I accept, as well," said Tiplee. "Though the scope of the task daunts me."

All eyes turned to Teff Nal'ma. The Twi'lek appeared to be deep in thought, his eye not even focused on what was in front of him. Finally after a silence that stretched into awkwardness, he answered, "I will take on this mission, though I am not happy about it. However, I am a Jedi Knight. I accept the tasks that are put in front of me."

"Thank you, all," said Mace. The Korun Jedi Master looked at the three Padawans, "I assume that the apprentices have no objection to this mission?"

No one objected.

"Then all there is left to say is may the Force be with you," said Mace. "If you need anything from Master Yoda or myself, please do ask."

Sascha had never heard Mace say the word 'please' before today. This day was turning out to be a rather interesting one...

"We will do our best, Master Yoda, Master Windu" answered Tiplee. Being the only Jedi Master in the trio, the Rishati was the default leader of the group.

The six Jedi bowed to Mace and Yoda. "Remember," said Mace. "Trust no one besides yourselves. "

As the six Jedi walked out of the Council chambers, Aurine muttered, "He could have chosen some less auspicious words to leave us with, I think."

* * *

Mace Windu waited until the six Jedi were out of the room and far away before turning to his old friend, Master Yoda. "I don't like this. They are good, solid, Jedi, I won't deny that. But we have no idea what games Dooku is playing. I think we are putting them against someone that is far above their level."

"In terms of the Force, outmatched they are. In terms of intelligence and trickery, outmatched they are not," said Yoda.

"And you are sure you have not misinterpreted your vision?" asked Mace. Mace did not like questioning Yoda. He only did it because no one else seemed to want to do it.

Yoda sighed. "Always misread, a vision may be. Trust in the Force, we will. Trust in their training, we will."

"I don't trust Teff's Padawan. She spent a lot of time undercover and out of contact. Who is to say that she is not one of Dooku's moles?"

Yoda stayed silent, simply looking into the distance and bouncing his stick off the floor in a rhythmic fashion.

Jedi Master Mace Windu knew when not to press for an answer. This was one of those times.


	23. Chapter 23: The Planning Stage

**LordDarthYoda** \- Yes, that parallel is one that should be noticed. Fortunately, it might work out slightly better for the Jedi Order this time :).

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- Please is not usually in Mace's vocabulary...but he's often not in the weaker position. It was definitely supposed to show that Mace felt that they needed these Jedi.

 **Lime-lensed Lord -** I like Yoda a lot, but holy crud is his speech hard to write. That's why Mace talks more than Yoda ;).

A/N - I've been having pretty bad writer's block the past few days. I know where I want the story to end, but I have less of an idea of how to actually get there. I also really, really hate this chapter. I wanted to delete it or completely rewrite it...but I didn't have the time. Publishing once a week is hard when you don't really have the right words to write down. I don't know. I'll do better next time :).

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 23: The Planning Stage**

Sascha Whitestar stretched out his neck, working out the kink that had manifested itself. He had spent a long few hours burying himself into researching the man that had been known as Jedi Master Dooku.

The three Padawans were in his small room, which meant that seating was in short supply. Normally they would have went to the library and did their research in those spacious confines, but with them having to do research in secret, they were somewhat confined in the locations they could operate away from others. Master Brynar had suggested that the task force rent a room in a decent hotel somewhere in Coruscant, somewhere away from prying eyes. Sascha thought that was a good idea, but no one had taken action on that quite yet.

"Dooku is confusing," complained Nara as she placed her datapad on the floor. "He's been a part of some of the most important treaties that the Jedi made in the past thirty years, he was invited to be on the Council several times, yet her never accepted. If he wanted to change the Jedi Order to be different, why didn't he work towards it?"

"It's hard to change something as rooted in tradition as the Jedi Order. It changes very slowly," said Tyra. "I guess Dooku just gave up hope that he'd ever be able to get the Jedi to change in a meaningful way."

"I just think its odd that with someone that has as much force of will as Dooku, to just give up and walk away," said Nara.

"You forget the most important thing about Dooku. He's proud," he chimed in. "He knew that he was a part of Serenno's aristocracy from birth, so he had been taught to be proud of that before he came to the Jedi. That sense of pride and arrogance never left him, it appears. If he can't have things his way..."

"That's why he thinks he can do better, I guess," said Nara. "He's proud enough to think that only _he_ can fix the Jedi Order."

"Somehow, I don't think his 'New Jedi Order' would end up being very democratic," speculated Tyra. "It would probably end up being a dictatorship, in practice if not in name. We can see Dooku has accumulated quite a bit of wealth, quietly. I can't imagine that he will give it up lightly. Money is power as they say."

"And we've only found the accounts of his that are public," Sascha pointed out. "He could have accounts in many banks outside of the Republic and we'd have no ability whatsoever to find them."

"Yeah, but he's already rich," said Nara.

"Well, there's rich. And then there is 'buy yourself an army' rich," said Sascha. "We don't need to be concerned about the first one, but we might be concerned about the second one."

"You really think he'd be interested in conquest?" asked Nara.

"No. I was just drawing an example," he said. "But there are different levels of being rich. We need to be cognizant of that. As Jedi, we aren't really the best at knowing the different between rich and ultra-rich."

"The money talk is interesting," said Tyra. "Why has Dooku gone and acquired so much money? What does he need it for?"

"That's a question to add to the list," said Sascha. He pulled up the master list of questions that the task force needed to answer, and added that question to the list. "We are up to 28 questions," said Sascha, faking a cheer.

"Well, maybe we can get them at the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit," said Tyra. "You still think that we should propose that the three of us go?"

"I do, actually," replied Sascha.

The Tykon Youth Leadership Summit was perhaps the preeminent conference from young, prospective leaders to meet up and discuss the issues of the Republic. Six of the last eight Chancellors of the Republic, including Chancellor Palpatine, had attended the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit. Delegations from all across the Republic (and outside) came to participate in the Summit. The host of the Summit varied from year to year. This year it was supposed to have been on Icart IV, but the sometimes tumultuous weather of Icart IV had turned against the event organizers and they were forced to look for another planet to host on short notice. Serenno had volunteered to take on the event and the organizers had accepted not too long ago. On the list of speakers at this event was one Count Dooku, making a rare public appearance. So if the Jedi wanted to get close to Dooku, that was about as good a time as any to do it, because they would at least know where he was.

"Do you think we should send word to the organizers, or just show up?" asked Tyra.

"I, personally, think we should just show up," said Sascha. "We can tell them we are here to participate in the summit, and years ago the Jedi used to send a small delegation of Padawans to the summit, so we can just say we are continuing that tradition." He shrugged, "Or we can just say we are providing security, one of the two. It's not like they are going to turn us away."

"Dooku will be unhappy to have a bunch of Jedi on Serenno," Tyra pointed out.

"Let him be unhappy," said Nara.

"I'm saying that he'll suspect something," said Tyra, raising her voice just a little. "He'll suspect that we aren't just showing up at this summit just to pal around with the future diplomats of the Republic."

"Then...we do something unexpected," Sascha said, thinking on the fly. "We show up at the event, but we play it completely straight. We don't look into Dooku at all."

"That defeats the purpose," complained Nara.

"Hold on," said Sascha, raising a hand. "Then we slip some other Jedi undercover and while Dooku is focused on them, the other Jedi go undetected and snoop around Dooku's stuff."

Tyra shook her head, "Nope, you've got it almost right. What we do is we show up, not as Jedi, but as the delegation from some distant planet, wanting to join in with the Summit. That way we don't have to announce ourselves as Jedi beforehand."

"But we have to hope that the organizers are so useless that they forgot an entire planet's delegation," he pointed out. "We can't exactly claim that it got lost in the mail."

"And I think that it adds too much complication to the whole thing," said Nara. "It means we will have to do so much additional research so that we can play the part of participants in the summit. It just seems like a lot of work for minor reward."

Tyra chewed her lip, a sign that she was unhappy, Sascha knew from experience, "I say we propose both of our plans to our Masters and let them sort it out."

That was Tyra taking the diplomatic way out, but Sascha saw the sense in it. Personally, he liked the first plan. "Anything else we want to propose to our Masters?"

"We should follow the money," said Nara. She hefted her datapad, "There's lots of money from Dooku's accounts that just seem to disappear into a thousand sketchy banks around the galaxy. Where the heck is his money going?"

"I like that idea," Sascha admitted, "But I haven't the faintest idea how to start doing a financial investigation that complicated without tipping off Dooku that we are sneaking around."

Nara seemed to deflate a little, "It's a good question. I have no idea. Most of the banks are outside of the Republic and thus we have no jurisdiction."

"And even if they did, someone would just send word to Dooku that someone is investigating," said Tyra, glumly.

"This sucks," observed Sascha. "I can only imagine what kind of progress our Masters are making."

* * *

Aurine Brynar didn't enjoy it when people argued. She liked it even less when her colleagues did. So, suffice to say she was not very much enjoying herself right now.

"Investigation into a Jedi Knight should _only_ begin when we have a reasonable suspicion that he or she or it may be a traitor to our cause," shouted Teff Nal'ma. Aurine wasn't sure how good the sound proofing in her room was, but it was absolutely being put to the test today.

"This is not a legal proceeding, Master Nal'ma," replied Tiplee. "We do not need reasonable suspicion to start an investigation. Our task was simple, find who Dooku is recruiting to his supposed new Jedi Order. If we wait until we have reasonable suspicion of each person we investigate, we may be too late. I do hate to be the pragmatic one, but if the threat to our Order is real, we must be willing to act."

"Have you ever stopped to think that this is what Dooku wants?" countered Teff. "We could destroy the Jedi Order from the inside if our investigations are revealed."

"So we don't get caught!" replied Tiplee, the usually placid Rishati losing her cool a little. "We can't be paralyzed by indecision. We will be careful and decisive in our investigation. Hopefully we will minimize any potential blowback."

Teff folded his arms across his chest, and suddenly Aurine's not-very-large room seemed even smaller. "What we are doing is immoral."

"We are doing what we've been tasked to do," replied Tiplee.

"That doesn't make it right."

"Then how would you like to proceed, Master Nal'ma?" asked Aurine.

"We shouldn't bother investigating Jedi. That's what Dooku wants us to do. He wants dissent to be spread within the Jedi Order."

"We don't know that's what he wants," said Tiplee. "We have no idea what he wants."

"We can suspect," said the Twi'lek. "Anyways, it doesn't matter. Investigation our fellow Jedi is pointless, because it would be impossible to find evidence that they are communicating with Dooku. All we can do is search the communications records of the Jedi that we suspect that might have had contact with Dooku. But no one raised in the Temple is stupid enough to have open communications with Dooku. They would be sneaking out and having communication through intermediaries. So unless we are willing to find a target and track them through every waking moment of the day, we aren't going to find anything."

Grudgingly, Aurine had to concede that Teff was probably right. If someone was communicating with Dooku, they weren't going to be stupid about it. And because they weren't going to be stupid about it, the investigating them was going to be fruitless. "So what do we do, then?" she asked.

Teff grimaced, "What Master Windu and Yoda were too afraid to tell us to do." Teff sighed, "One of us must seek out Dooku and try to join him."

"I..." Aurine was about to say that was a bad plan, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Dooku, if he was truly forming this 'New Jedi Order' would be eager to have new recruits join him. However, expecting Dooku to reveal his plans to someone who had joined him voluntarily was a bit too much to hope for. Real life was not like a holomovie, where the villain told his underlings his exact plans in excruciating detail. Still, it could give them the sense of what Dooku was actually doing. It seemed to be a move with not much to lose and much to gain.

"That is patently absurd," replied Tiplee, her back straightening. "And it is far too dangerous. Our mission is to investigate Dooku and what he is planning, not to deceive and antagonize him."

Before Teff could rebut the Rishati, Aurine jumped in, "I agree with Master Nal'ma, his plan is a good one."

The Twi'lek nodded and bowed slightly towards her, "I am glad to hear you say that, Master Brynar."

"And I am yet to be convinced," said Tiplee, shooting her a stern glare.

"It costs us nothing, but could gain us everything," said Aurine. "Lets face it, Tiplee, our task is basically impossible. Find out what Dooku is doing. He's not exactly going to sit down and give us an interview, so we have to be creative. We have to do the unexpected."

"This, is poking the _beast_ ," said Tiplee.

"We are going to poke him anyway," said Aurine with a sigh. "We might as well make it a good poke."

Tiplee paced for a few moments, "It is at least worth giving a try, I suppose. But we must do it carefully. Dooku is a careful and experienced Jedi Master. He is not to be underestimated." She paused again, "Who out of the three of us should be this fake mole?"

"Me," said both Aurine and Teff at the same time.

Teff chuckled, "With respect, Master Brynar, it should be me. My distrust of the Council is well known, and while you having a Master that is famously free spirited, that has never applied to you."

"If Dooku even knows my name," Aurine said, but she had a sinking feeling that she was losing this argument.

"He may not. But he probably knows me. My spat with the Council has been...an ongoing affair for many years now," Teff admitted sheepishly.

Tiplee and her exchanged a look. The Rishati gave her a slight nod. "Sounds good," she said. "Now we should call the Padawans so we can all meet together."

"Which raises the question of where we should meet," said Tiplee. "We can't exactly all fit into this room."

"We need to get out of the Temple," said Teff.

"But its a bit odd to have six Jedi wandering around Coruscant," said Tiplee.

Teff put a hand gently to his head, "This is going to be a logistics nightmare. We need access to the Temple, but we also can't be seen always wandering around as a group. We also need space to meet in private."

"We could just do calls from within the Temple," Tiplee suggested.

"It's a temporary solution, I suppose," said Aurine. "Let's call the Padawans."

"Wait," said Aurine. "I have another idea."

* * *

Sascha Whitestar had very few complaints about his ship, The _Emerald Dream_. One of them, however, was that his ship couldn't exactly hold a lot of people in the lounge. It fit about 4 with no problem, provided that they were slender. 5 was pushing it. 6, no way.

So, the six Jedi had to make do.

Teff was leaning against the wall on the far side of the lounge room, while he, Nara and Aurine sat at the table. Tyra and Tiplee decided that they would pace around the room, a pair of moving targets to focus on.

The Padawans explained what they wanted to do with the upcoming Tykon Youth Leadership Summit, and had received preliminary approval, though the question of who exactly would be leaving for Serenno seemed to still be up in the air. On the other hand, the three Knights seemed very divided as to how to progress. Teff Nal'ma was apparently going to see if he could be recruited by Dooku, but that seemed like a longshot at best to Sascha. He wasn't quite sure what Aurine and Tiplee were going to do though. No one seemed to have any amazing ideas about that.

"Nara has suggested that we try to investigate Dooku's finances," Sascha said. "Though we admit it would be a tough investigation, seeing where Dooku's finances are flowing may give us the ability to anticipate his moves."

"A good thought," said Tiplee, nodding her head towards her apprentice, "But as you might have discussed, Dooku will keep very little of his wealth within the Republic, and thus our ability to investigate will be curtailed. "

"We should pay someone to look into it, then," said Sascha, blurting out an idea. "We could...feed a tip to a journalist or...hire an auditor..."

"Master Yoda requested we keep this investigation small," said Aurine gently. "Letting other people in on it is clearly not the point."

"Oh," he said. "Of course. Ignore me." Sascha felt his cheeks warming in embarrassment as Nara gave him a little tap on the arm as if to say, 'Don't worry about it.' He gave her a little grin in return.

"At least the Padawans are coming up with ideas," Teff said with the hint of a smile.

"We should decide who is going to the Summit," said Tiplee, her pacing coming to a standstill for the moment. "The usual delegation size is two, yes?"

"Yes, Master Tiplee," replied Tyra. "Nara and Sascha are the two best diplomats of the Padawans. I feel like they should go."

"Seems acceptable," said Tiplee. "Then Tyra is of course the natural choice to do some snooping around Serenno."

"With me overseeing her, of course," Teff said a bit haughtily. Sascha could tell that Tyra was annoyed. But Tyra was always annoyed when someone implied that she could not protect herself. Yet, it was probably a good idea to have Teff potentially be with Tyra. His friend was formidable, but a Master and a Padawan pairing was usually just that much more formidable.

"I was under the impression that the Knights would have their own little mission," said Aurine. "And besides, aren't you the one that is supposed to be trying to get Dooku to notice you? How can you do that if you are supervising your Padawan?"

"I can multitask," said Teff brusquely.

Aurine and Tiplee shared a look, obviously they were not on the same page with each other. "Well, I guess that leaves what Tiplee and I should do. I suppose we could attach ourselves to the delegation to the summit."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Master, but you are too old to be there," said Sascha.

"We could go as security," suggested Tiplee.

"What would be the point?" said Nara. "The point is that we are attending this Summit to make Dooku think that they Jedi are keeping tabs on him. Tyra and Master Nal'ma are there to do the actual investigation. Having you there as security serves no purpose."

"We could stay at the Temple and investigate, I suppose," said Aurine dubiously.

"I don't think we should remove ourselves so far from the action," said Tiplee.

"You don't trust me and the Padawans to get this mission completed?" asked Teff, his displeasure evident. Teff, like his Padawan, didn't like to be questioned. Maybe that was part of the reason they made a good team, Sascha mused.

"The trust is there, Master Nal'ma ," Tiplee said trying to placate the Twi'lek. "But we must look at how to allocate our resources. We cannot have two of our three Jedi Knights just sitting on Coruscant twiddling their thumbs. Now, if anyone has any ideas as to what Aurine and I can do, please let us know."

Nara chimed in, "How about talking with some of Dooku's former Padawans. I believe Master Galfond is in the Temple. He was Dooku's Padawan before Qui-Gon."

"Galfond isn't the type to put up with any traitorous talk from Dooku," said Teff. "Those two were never all that close. Neither was he and Qui-Gon. Honestly, Dooku had very few friends amongst Jedi."

"It sounds like you knew him a bit, Master" said Tyra.

Teff paused for a second, "I am the oldest Jedi here," said Teff with a little smile. "I wouldn't say I knew him all that well. But we had some conversations many years ago." The Twi'lek seemed sheepish, "We mainly discussed the flaws that we saw in the Jedi Order, and how the Jedi were not willing to go far enough to achieve their goals. These were ideas that I eventually grew out of. But it appears that Dooku had not."

"What is he like, Dooku?" he asked.

Teff hesitated, "Intelligent, cunning, but cold. I always got the sense that he felt like he was 'above' me. Of course, he was a respected Jedi Master, and I was just starting out as a Jedi Knight, so that might have contributed to it. We were never friendly and I don't think he would remember me unless I was standing right in front of him, but I knew him a little." The Twi'lek paused, "I must also state that he's an immensely powerful force user. He's arguably the best duelist in the entire Order. Only Master Windu can match him."

The six Jedi were silent as they listened to Teff talk.

"Enough of what we are up against, we decide what Tiplee and I should do? We need to make a decision today," said Aurine.

"Why don't we all go to Serenno?" asked Sascha, interrupting what he was sure was going to be impending argument. "Nara and I go as part of the Jedi delegation to this Summit. Tyra and Teff to do some investigations, and Tiplee and Aurine can...I don't know."

"We can investigate any leads that either of the two teams find," said Aurine, nodding to him and warming up to the idea. "We can also arrive first and make sure that everything is normal on the planet."

"It'll give us flexibility," pointed out Tyra. "They can also take the _Emerald Dream_ , meaning that we can have a ship ready to get us off planet if need be."

"I like it," said Teff. All the other Jedi nodded.

"Okay," said Tiplee. "Nara and Sascha, Tyra and Teff, please forward us your itineraries. We'll arrive on planet about a day beforehand, so you can have plenty of time to adjust your strategies if need be. We'll be organizers for the first part, and then it will be up to the individual teams to make their own decisions"

"Any objections? I like this plan," said Teff.

There were none. Their plans were set.


	24. Chapter 24: Serenno

**LordDarthYoda** \- Yes, you think that everyone is going to be seduced by the dark side ;). Will it happen? Who knows! You are right that Palpatine would see right through the ruse, but Dooku...Dooku is arrogant, he might not see it coming...

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- Yeah, set-up chapters are a necessary evil, but I like putting in things that are fun in those chapters, but nothing really fun really came to mind. Oh well. We are on to the good stuff, starting...now

A/N - Huzzah, my writer's block is gone :). I enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully you will too! Really wish that Dooku had like...a last name. Would make writing easier :p.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Serenno**

Sascha Whitestar and Nara Nalto had just landed on Serenno and things were already going poorly. Their little ship, which they had taken out from the Jedi Temple a few days ago, was currently on the ground in Serenno, in a spaceport near the capital city. Which was good. What was bad was that when he and Nara had announced that they had wanted to land on Serenno, the control tower had sent them to a spaceport outside the capital and told them to wait until their ship could be 'investigated' by customs.

The customs investigators had come and gone, and the two Jedi had been nothing but polite to the men and women that were simply doing their job, which was (apparently) searching the ship for contraband. They had none, of course. Their ship, the _Noble Envoy_ was fresh from the Temple and it wasn't like they were smuggling in some exotic fruits.

The investigators had left the ship about an hour ago, but he and Nara had still not been allowed to disembark. The two Jedi were playing it calm for now, but Nara was starting to pace around the ship. The Togruta didn't like to feel 'trapped' and while they weren't trapped in a traditional sense (they could easily take off and leave), Sascha sympathized with her. Predators didn't like being trapped.

"Do you want to hear my theory about why we are being forced to wait?" he asked, as Nara paced towards the end of the ship. For his part, he remained in the captain's chair, waiting for a response from the authorities on Serenno.

"Is there any possible response I could make that would make you _not_ tell me what your theory is?" asked Nara.

"No."

Nara sighed.

"My theory is that Dooku is coming here to see us."

Nara stopped in her tracks, "Seriously?"

Sascha shrugged, "It's a long shot, but it rings true for me. Why else would they be delaying us with this nonsense? Who or what are they waiting for? If they wanted us to leave, they wouldn't have let us land. So I think they are waiting for someone to show up. And who else would have a vested interest in meeting the two Jedi who have suddenly decided to show up. One former Jedi Master Dooku."

"If you are right, I'm never going to hear the end of it, am I?"

"I'm pretty magnanimous, I thought?"

"You thought wrong," laughed Nara. "But what happens if he does show up?"

"We fight him and defeat him in an epic lightsaber duel," he said sarcastically. That remark drew a smile from Nara, but he continued more seriously, "We have to play it straight with him. He'll be too good at determining if we are lying if we try to do that. White lies are probably the best we can manage."

Nara stopped pacing and settled into the co-pilot's chair, turning her big blue eyes towards him, "Would it really matter if he knew we were lying?"

Sascha shrugged, "It kind of defeats our purpose of being here. We are supposed to be the benign ones. If we give Dooku cause to believe that the Jedi might be monitoring him, then we imperil the others."

Nara's eyes showed comprehension, "Gotcha, on the rare, almost impossible possibility that Dooku is coming here to talk to us, we'll be honest. But not completely honest."

"You've got it."

Nara swung back around in her seat, "Got anything fun that we can do while we wait?"

"We could practice kissing?" he suggested with a droll smile.

"Close your eyes and pucker your lips and you can kiss my fist as I punch you in the mouth," Nara deadpanned.

Sascha laughed, which started Nara laughing as well. Sascha enjoyed flirting with Nara, because Nara knew exactly how to take it, not at all seriously.

The comm buzzed, indicating an incoming call, " _Noble Envoy_ here."

" _Noble Envoy_ you will lower your starboard ramp and receive passengers, copy?"

"Understood," he replied. He turned to Nara, "Now look into the Force and see if you can find Dooku. He should be close," he said sarcastically.

Sascha went and lowered the boarding ramp, wondering who else the authorities on Serenno were going to send to delay them. Maybe they'd be lucky and these would be from the organizers of the event.

"Uh, Sascha," said Nara, hustling to join him at the top of the ramp, "Maybe we should..."

He took one look towards Nara and then one look towards man that was striding towards them. It was hard to misidentify this person, since he had been researching him for days. Dooku.

Dressed in a dark green robe with stylish accents that were of various different colours, Dooku certainly seemed to carry an aura of wealth and power. Dooku's hair was thinning, but the grey-white hair on the top of his head seemed to add an additional air of nobility to him. The last thing that Sascha noted was that Dooku was _tall_. Dooku was probably approaching 2 meters tall, which meant that he was substantially taller than both him and Nara.

Sascha stared, dumbstruck at the approaching figure. Nara tapped him on his right shoulder, snapping him out of his daze.

"Master Dooku," Sascha said, bowing politely. "It is an honor and a pleasure to meet you. Though I am unsure as to what we have done to earn it."

Dooku stopped at the bottom of the ramp and looked up at the two Jedi, as if they were completely unimportant, "I will have to apologize, but I do not know either of your names."

"I'm Sascha Whitestar, and this is Nara Nalto. We are here to participate in the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit. I understand it starts in a few hours," Sascha said pointedly. He would get nowhere in this conversation if he let Dooku run him over. He had to show a little spine in this conversation.

Dooku put a booted foot on the ramp, "May I join you aboard your ship?"

Nara glanced backwards into the ship, "It's barely got seating for three," she said dubiously.

Dooku smiled faintly, "I am aware of how rustic and austere most Jedi ships are, Padawans."

Sascha decided that there was nothing that they could exactly do to prevent Dooku from boarding their ship, so he shrugged and waved the former Jedi Master inside the ship. There wasn't much of a lounge inside the _Noble Envoy_ , just some foldable trestle tables that one could raise or lower depending on the circumstances. Sascha used a switch to lower them to the floor of the ship. Dooku glanced at them dubiously and Sascha saw the problem, the tables were fine for he and Nara, but Dooku, being longer and lankier than the two Padawans, would not be as comfortable.

"Next time we can meet on your ship," joked Nara.

Dooku, to Sascha's surprise, laughed. Not an overpowering laugh, but a nice little chuckle at a good joke. The former Jedi Master did his best to take a seat, but still looked rather awkward sitting at a table that was too small for him.

"How can we help you, Master Dooku?" asked Sascha.

"You can help me by telling me why you are here." Dooku spoke placidly, but you would have to be an idiot not to notice the threat underneath the words. Dooku's speaking voice, while dulcet, carried with it an almost unspoken power.

"We are here to attend the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit," he said, repeating his answer from earlier.

"Are you really?" mused Dooku. "The organizers of the Summit have no record of extending an invitation to the Jedi Order."

And how would you know that, Dooku? Sascha almost asked. Instead, Nara responded, "We figured that we would be welcomed at an event that likes to be inclusive." The Togruta shrugged, trying to seem casual, "Besides, the Jedi used to send a delegation to the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit every year. We figured that we should probably resurrect the tradition."

"Indeed," said Dooku. "One might wonder if there is an ulterior method at work."

Nara blinked, her wide eyes feigning ignorance, "I can't imagine what that would be?"

Dooku smiled thinly, "It is just strange for the Jedi Order, which so loves its bureaucracy and doing things the 'right' way to just decide unilaterally to attend an event like this without informing the organizers. I wonder why that would be..."

"You think the Jedi Order is spying on you," Sascha said flatly. He made a tiny gesture with his hands, "Well, it is your right to think that of course, and I understand if you want to send us away. We'll return to the Jedi Temple."

"Hrm.. I do not think that Jedi gave up so easily," purred Dooku dangerously.

"Our orders were to explicitly avoid antagonizing you," said Nara, speaking the truth. It was specifically both of their orders to not have any contact with Dooku, besides what was necessary. "So if you wish us to leave, we'll be off as soon as our engines heat up again."

Dooku looked at both of them studying them both from behind his intense eyes. Sascha felt like he was naked under Dooku's gaze, it was, to say the least, a profoundly disturbing experience. "Why did you want to attend the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit?" Dooku said at last.

"We both, Nara and I, we both feel that the Jedi Order has stopped doing things that we used to do. These days we sit in our Temple too much, we don't get out there and be seen. We need to be seen helping people, that's the strength of the Jedi Order, empowering others to do good works and good deeds, that is how the Jedi Order is supposed to be...in our opinion at least."

"And you aren't here to spy on me?" asked Dooku as if he was asking what planets they were born on.

Sascha had to think of an answer on the fly, "Master Dooku, if the Jedi wanted to spy on you...do you really think they'd send us? Two Padawans that you've probably never heard of? Padawans that _announced themselves_ upon landing?"

"It would be an interesting strategy," said Dooku, appearing to admit defeat.

"Is there anything else we can help you with, Master Dooku?" asked Nara.

"No, that is quite all right," said Dooku, standing from the trestle table. "I assume you have all your things? We'll be heading for the Summit right away."

"Pardon me?" asked Nara.

Dooku smiled at the Togruta, "Well, I can hardly have you come all this way and have you be turned away from the Summit by the organizers. I will come with you and make sure that everything goes smoothly."

Sascha froze. What the heck was going on here?

Fortunately Nara was more on the ball than he was. She elbowed him surreptitiously in the back and nodded to Dooku, "Of course, just let Sascha and I get our things. They are just in the back."

"I'll wait for you here," said Dooku, moving towards the ramp and withdrawing a datapad, pressing some buttons on it.

"We'll be back in a bit," said Nara, smiling genially.

Nara led Sascha back to the rear of the ship where their quarters were located. Sascha wasn't quite sure what to make of this latest turn of events. He also didn't want to talk it out with Nara for fear of Dooku overhearing something that he wasn't meant to overhear. Instead they tried to communicate via hand signals.

Sascha expressed his displeasure with the current turn of events, but admitted that they had to stay the course. Nara nodded, and punched him on the shoulder. He punched her back. That was the one thing that they could rely upon, each other. He had Nara's back and she had his.

The two Jedi returned with their packs slung over their shoulders. Dooku was still waiting at the top of the ramp. Sascha wished that their target would disappear into thin air. The longer they spent around Dooku, the greater the chances that Dooku would discover their real reason for being here. But it wasn't like they had any alternative.

This mission was going off the rails right from the start.

* * *

 _Gyal City, Serenno_

Aurine Byrnar would never admit it to anyone other than herself and her old Master, but she really enjoyed being in seedy cantinas. Unlike most women, Aurine, of course, had no fear of actually being hurt or drugged by some sort of nefarious character. In fact, if someone pressed their luck too far with her, she would gladly sort them out with a good punch to the nose (or equivalent alien body part). So she was glad to be in the _Green Brisk Hotel_ _bar_.

Whoever had opened this cantina had clearly had a fairly loose grasp of basic, as the _Green Brisk Hotel bar_ was not part of hotel, nor was it green. The cantina was located in a rougher part of Gyal city, one of the places where the people that worked on the estates of the big families on Serenno would come to drink their sorrows away. The place was dusty, dirty and every piece of electronics in the place seemed to be anywhere from fifty to a hundred and fifty years old.

Aurine Byrnar loved it.

Her companion, Tiplee, did not.

The two Jedi Knights had arrived on Serenno two days prior on an unremarkable passenger liner without any problems. Since that time they had tried to judge the mood on the planet. Their investigation had brought them to Gyal City, one of the smaller cities on the planet, and one that proudly held a reputation of holding a slightly different opinions then the larger, more populous and richer cities. Not that Gyal City wasn't plenty rich. Serenno was one of the richest planets in the entire galaxy, Gyal City just happened to be lower on the scale.

Tiplee, for once dressed in civilian clothing, looked dubiously at the drink that was in front of her. She had ordered a Strewcaster Snobreeze, an exotic but relatively easy to make drink that was a favourite during hot days on Coruscant. Unfortunately, the barkeeping at the _Green Brisk Hotel bar_ , was not exactly of the highest standards and the droid seemed to have made a hash of the drink.

Aurine's ale, in comparison, seemed to be just fine.

"When do you think the first bar fight will break out," asked Tiplee.

"Give it time, the participants need a few drinks in them before the entertainment can begin," Aurine replied.

Tiplee's mouth dropped open, and then she shook her head, "I thought that bars like this only existed in novels and holodramas."

Aurine waved a hand expansively, "You can find places like this on every planet in the galaxy. Where hope can always be found at the bottom of your drink."

"It seems like you are at home," Tiplee remarked.

Aurine grinned. She had a feeling that whoever her parents were, they may have met in a place like this. "We are just here because our journalist friend wanted to meet here," she reminded Tiplee.

"We should have met at his home," sighed Tiplee.

"I didn't get a choice of venue," Aurine replied.

The journalist they were speaking of, Delx Greevenson, was a name that had come to Aurine's attention early on. An outspoken critic of Dooku, it seemed to Aurine that Delx Greevenson knew more about Dooku than just about anyone on the planet. It had taken some cajoling, but Aurine had gotten Delx to meet. The human's only condition? He got to pick where they met.

"How did you get Delx to even meet with you, anyway?" asked Tiplee.

"I told him I had information on Dooku," she replied.

"So he has no idea he's meeting with Jedi."

"He hasn't the faintest idea," she said.

"Ah. Well this shall be fun," said Tiplee, lifting her drink and deciding to take a sip. Her eyes closed and her cheeks puckered. The Rishati clearly was not a fan of her drink. "Next time I'm ordering water."

"No alcohol in water."

"That would be the point," smiled Tiplee.

"Boring," said Aurine.

"That would _also_ be the point," said Tiplee, wagging a finger at her.

Aurine's comlink buzzed. She had told Delx to buzz her when he arrived at the bar. She glanced up and saw someone of Delx's approximate height and weight dressed in a concealing cloak near the front of the bar. "Excuse me, I have to go grab us a journalist."

Aurine slipped away from her table and picked her way carefully to the front of the bar. Fortunately for her, Delx was looking for someone that had her (fairly unique) physical appearance, so Delx was able to spot her and meet her halfway. She declined to offer her name and simply pointed to her table at the back of the room.

Delx was a human in his mid-thirties that possessed a certain rakish air. His cloak was pulled around him pretty tightly but Aurine could still see his nicely trimmed beard and facial hair, along with his intelligent, deep set eyes.

"You must be Aurine," said Delx. "Drinks are on you, right?"

"I'm Aurine and this is Tiplee. And yes, drinks are on us." She hoped that Delx would tell them what she wanted to know before he got drunk.

"So," said Delx, gesturing to the barkeeping droid for a drink, "What information did you want to share about everyone's favourite ex-Jedi, Dooku?"

"We have information," Aurine said coyly, "But we have some questions for you first."

Delx rolled his eyes, "Give me information or I'm gone."

Aurine nudged Tiplee, and the Rishati picked up her lightsaber and dropped it authoritatively on the table.

Delx stared at the device for a long few moments, his eyes wide.

"And before you ask, it's real," stated Tiplee.

Delx made a move to touch it, but Tiplee grabbed it back before he could.

Aurine leaned forward, "Now. We have some questions, and if you answer them, I guarantee you'll learn some things about Dooku that you did not know before."

Delx took a deep breath, "Let me get my drink first. A man needs to think about what he's going to say when confronted by a pair of...Jedi." Delx said the last word with a sort of low reverence.

Delx's drink, an exotic, imported ale, raised Aurine's eyebrows, "I can't believe I'm paying for that."

"Cost of doing business." Delx looked around and decided that there was no one close enough to overhear. "Okay, lets start at the beginning. You know how things work on Serenno, correct?"

Aurine recited from memory, "The planet's wealth is controlled by many competing families, the same as planets like Kuat. There's generally speaking a few very strong families and many smaller families that are always looking to supplant the main families. There are some unspoken rules that cannot be broken, but basically all competition is done through business and not through things like murder etc. These rules are generally enforced, but there is always the odd incident that occurs."

Delx nodded, "You've got the gist. One thing that you've missed was that the media is supposed to be left alone to do it's own business. No family is supposed to own the media. They can all influence it, of course, but journalists are not targets in their little wealth wars."

"Understood," said Tiplee.

"Now how does Dooku fit into all this? What is he doing?"

Delx leaned back in his chair, "So Dooku's family gave him up to the Jedi when he was like ...four years old or something. It shouldn't have been a problem. Dooku had two older brothers that were rumored to be quite talented. The family's line of succession was secure. His family figured that having a Jedi Knight in the family could be quite handy down the line. I don't think they ever really understood that when they gave him over to the Jedi that they were not going to get to contact him until the Jedi training took hold."

"What happened to Dooku's brothers?" asked Tiplee.

Delx took a drink, "See the funny thing about brothers, is they tend to do things together. And that involves traveling together. Twenty years ago, they were off planet with their wives. They went out for drinks and had a few too many. Then they decided that they would drive home. Both families. One speeder." Delx winced, "You see where this one is going."

"Yes," said Aurine quietly.

"This was, of course, a disaster for Dooku's family. Their only biological son was now a Jedi and out of contact."

"They tried to make contact with Dooku, I assume," said Aurine.

"I can only guess that they did," said Delx. "It didn't matter in the end. Dooku's parents put everything into a trust and left it for their Jedi son. It was a gamble. Dooku could have easily have taken it and given it to charity, or thrown it all into the sea. He was supposed to be a respected Jedi Master at this point. Of course, you know as well as I do, that he was deeply unhappy in the Jedi Order."

"Right," said Aurine. She had known most of this from preliminary research, but a few drips and tidbits were interesting. "When did Dooku return home?"

Delx shook his head, "I don't know. I'd call myself Serenno's foremost authority on Dooku, but I have limits. If Dooku wants to travel in secret, he travels in secret."

"Perhaps a better question is when people became aware that he was 'home'," said Tiplee.

"Before he left the Jedi Order for good. It was probably several months before the fracas on Naboo. By that time it was clear that Dooku had taken over his family's wealth. His parents passed away soon after that."

Aurine frowned, "So before he left the Jedi, he had publicly been named as head of his house?"

Delx clucked his tongue, "Not publically, no. But it was known to all the important players in the game."

"One might think that having a Jedi Master being at the head of one of Serenno's most powerful families might have raised a few concerns," said Tiplee.

"Concerns, yes. But what could they do? He was a Jedi Master," said Delx.

"They should have banded together and ousted him," said Tiplee.

Delx smiled at the two Jedi, "The families of Serenno couldn't come together to do anything. Some must have seen it as the chance to ally with a powerful house. Some may have thought that they could manipulate him." Delx smiled sadly, "They never saw it coming."

"Saw what coming?"

Delx waited for an inebriated Rodian to stagger past their table before speaking again, "Dooku changed the game."

"How?" asked Aurine.

"Dooku either doesn't know or doesn't care about the rules, as they have existed informally for years," Delx said. "Dooku is already the most powerful man on Serenno. No one else seems ready to believe it."

"You've been reporting on it," she pointed out.

" _When_ , I can get published, yes," said Delx bitterly. "But no one wants to hear the truth. The truth doesn't sell magazines/"

"Give me an example," said Aurine. "From our perspective it just appears that Dooku is conducting business as normal."

"Well, he's being smart about it. But one overt thing he's done is he's taken over one of the news networks on Serenno."

"Like...literally?" asked Tiplee.

"No. But they've basically dedicated themselves to running pro-Dooku stories at least once a day. And, to put the icing on the cake, Dooku has lavishly rewarded the head of the network, Besit Rallio, with an unofficial position within his estate. A conflict of interest, one would think."

"And the other families?" she asked. "Are they doing nothing?"

"Oh, I'm sure there is discussion. They just can't agree to do anything."

Aurine and Tiplee shared a look, "Anything else?"

Delx looked around, again making sure that no one could overhear him. Delx seemed to be afraid to speak, but he did anyway, "There are coincidences that, in my opinion appear to be linked. The only thing that they do is seem to give Dooku more power."

"Examples?"

"I'll give you one, and I'll send the others to you later. You can investigate them on your own, if you'd like." Delx took another drink from his beer, and Aurine realized that she was clenching her fists by her sides. She forced herself to came down and unclench her fists.

"There's a minor house, whose ancestral home is near Dooku's. Their families have been rivals for thousands of years. Until a few months ago, when they suddenly became allies. What happened, I hear you ask?"

"Yup."

"This family has the misfortune of only having one heir. That makes him extraordinarily valuable, for obvious reasons. He was sent to Chandrilla for his studies, when he disappeared. Everyone assumed that he was being held for ransom. Then, miraculously, he appears back on Serenno, completely unharmed. The next day, Dooku and this rival house signs a treaty of cooperation, that essentially made it that so that Dooku has access to both these houses." Delx took a breath, "There are similar stories across the planet, where the end result is Dooku gains power."

"What is your conclusion?" asked Tiplee.

Delx nodded, looking stricken, "My conclusion is this. Dooku is, for all intents and purposes, the Prime Minister of Serenno, with all the resources that implies. And my feeling is that he's not going to stop at Serenno. Why would he? He's interested in Empire."

Aurine Brynar had a deep unsettling feeling settle into the pit of her stomach. Dooku was not sitting idly by. Dooku was a _threat_.


	25. Chapter 25: Mistakes

**LordDarthYoda** \- You got the basic point. Think of it this way. We have rules in our politics, then someone came along and broke all the rules, but no one had the ability to stand up to them. Now Dooku's got almost unofficial control of all of Serenno, which I've always seen described as a very rich world. Plus, as a Jedi if he wanted to make more money, I'm sure he could manage to make more!

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- Dooku's fun to write, because he's very intelligent, and a master strategist. You never really can tell how much he knows... And yes, the Jedi's plan goes off the rails almost immediately, and it continues to go off the rails as all things tend to do :). I couldn't find anything that confirms Dooku's first name, so I'll just continue to call him Dooku. Would be really helpful if he had a first name though :p

A/N - I got nothing.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Mistakes**

Tyra Harker hated the moments before a mission. When she was in the thick of a mission she was rarely ever nervous, but the moments before a mission started, her mind always seemed to drift to the potential ways that the mission could go wrong. And this one could go wrong in so many, many ways.

"One day you will not be so nervous," said Teff. The Twi'lek was behind her, dressed in gray and black fatigues that concealed most of his identifying features.

"Then that will be the day I mess up," said Tyra, checking her clothing to make sure it was concealing her as much as possible. Generally, Tyra hated sneaking around. She much preferred to show up in full Jedi regalia and use the power that being a Jedi implied. Sneaking around, also implied that she was doing something wrong. And tonight, she was feeling like she was doing something wrong. Breaking into Dooku's (or Count Dooku as he liked to be known) home was not exactly going to be a walk in the park. It was morally dubious, but with Dooku off attending the Tykon Summit, there wasn't going to be a better chance to go snooping around his estate. It didn't make her feel any more morally superior though.

Tyra looked over at her Master and nodded, indicating that she was ready to begin. The Twi'lek wasted no time, sprinting quickly towards the first of many buildings on the Dooku estate. Though the estate was guarded by both droids the living, it had been trivial to slip inside the perimeter of the sprawling estate. Dooku's estate was set up to catch beings of ordinary abilities, not extraordinary beings.

Dooku's estate had seven main buildings of similar size, all connected by a series of underground walkways. It was heavily guarded on the outside, but like most families on Serenno, it did not rely heavily on defences inside of the compound to keep it safe. The facade of power and security was often enough to keep potential thieves away. That and the punishment for theft from one of the powerful families was often death without a trial. That was a fate that Tyra really wanted to avoid.

As Tyra and Teff skulked towards the buiding, the first thing that she noticed was that in the large, rectangular buildings that made up Dooku's estate, was that there were way too many lights on inside of them. It was far after sundown on Serenno, but no one, not even someone as rich as Dooku left so many lights on if no one was home. As the two Jedi reached the wall, Tyra reached out and touched Teff, to tell him to slow down. She reached out with her senses in the Force and found two familiar presences not far from her.

Nara Nalto and Sascha Whitestar.

But why the hell were Sascha and Nara in Dooku's home? Had they been captured?

* * *

Sascha Whitestar and Nara Nalto were enduring the most awkward speeder ride of their lives. After leaving their ship on the platform, Dooku had summoned his luxury speeder along with his personal driver, so that they could all be delivered to the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit.

Dooku's luxury speeder was by far the nicest speeder Sascha had ever been in. The seats in the back (a self-contained unit on its own, separate from the main part of the speeder with the propulsion), conformed to his body as he sank deeper into the seat. It was extraordinarily comfortable, physically speaking. There even seemed to be a fine mist released into the air, making everything slightly cool inside.

Yet it was the incredible awkwardness of being in close proximity with Dooku that was the only thing Sascha could think about. He and Nara sat close together, almost shoulder to shoulder, while Dooku sat across from them, occasionally looking at his datapad and occasionally looking up to ask a question or two of them.

The questions Dooku asked were mostly innocuous, just asking who their Masters were, what they thought of Serenno, why they thought attending this Summit might be a good idea. Sascha tried not to be blunt or rude, but given the situation, he thought it was best that the answers he gave were short and to the point.

Dooku glanced out the window, "We are almost here. Are you ready?"

Nara smiled, "A Jedi is always ready, Master Dooku."

Dooku smiled back placidly, "I am no longer Master Dooku, I left the Jedi Order and relinquished my title there."

Nara didn't seem phased, "I'm aware, Master Dooku, I will continue to call you that based on the years you faithfully served the Jedi Order."

A flash of what might have been annoyance came across Dooku's face before it vanished. "That is very polite of you, perhaps you are diplomats after all."

"We try," said Sascha.

"How are you enjoying being a Padawan?" asked Dooku.

"It's challenging," Sascha answered truthfully. "I learn something new everyday though, and sometimes, that feels like that is enough."

"Plus, helping people always feels good," said Nara.

"Don't you feel like you can be doing more?" asked Dooku benignly.

"I don't know," said Sascha honestly. "Sometimes it feels like we sit inside our Temple when we should be doing something and helping people. But we are both still young Padawans, we still don't understand a lot of things."

"I think you understand more than you are letting on," said Dooku. "You both seem to be fairly intelligent young Jedi. You just don't want to voice your displeasure with someone who is no longer a part of the Order."

"That might be part of it as well," said Nara enigmatically.

Dooku smirked, but said nothing.

The speeder slowed down and Sascha took a brief look outside. They were in a highly urban area, outside a tall building that Sascha assumed was the Glickly Convention Centre, the large, sprawling building that was hosting the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit.

As the speeder halted, Sascha moved to open the door, but found that the door was locked. He cast a worried look towards Dooku who watched him with an amused look on his face. Sascha's heart dropped for a second and he started reaching towards his lightsaber, when the door opened of its own accord. Sascha almost tumbled out of the speeder but managed to keep his balance.

It took half a second for Sascha to realize that with a luxury speeder like this, someone was going to come around and open the door _for_ him. He glanced back at Dooku, who looked even more amused. Nara was trying to suppress a laugh and not doing a very good job.

Sascha, his ego wounded, stepped out of the speeder and into the sunlight of Serenno. He nodded at the well dressed human that was obviously Dooku's personal driver. Following him out of the speeder was Dooku. Nara followed behind him.

"Traditionally I would be the first to exit," said Dooku. "But I appreciate you attempting to be my bodyguard."

Sascha blushed, "Yes, Master Dooku. An honest mistake"

"No doubt. Let us make our entrance."

An hour later, Sascha felt like he might be able to breathe again. Though the organizers at the check in desk had been surprised to see Dooku (and to a lesser extent, two Jedi Padawans), they had bent over backwards to accommodate them. The first real event of the Summit didn't start until tomorrow, tonight was just the formal welcoming gala, which he was sure would be fun. He and Nara had not brought any special clothing, so he was sure that they would look quite dour in their robes, compared to what everyone else would be wearing. The fact that Nara was not complaining about was a testament to how shook up both Jedi were. And continued to be.

For the had a problem. Dooku hadn't left yet. And with Dooku around, there was still the chance of everything going horribly wrong.

Dooku was holding court with some of the attendees of the conference hanging off his every word. In contrast, he and Nara had a small group of people that had spotted them and been brave enough to approach the two Padawans. Mostly the group, which consisted of beings from across the galaxy, seemed to be happy to meet with the Jedi, though several had pointed criticism for the Jedi in the Republic. It was all cordial, as might be expected of an event like this, but it was a sign that the young people in the Republic didn't necessarily fawn over the Jedi.

"What do you think of Count Dooku being here?" asked one young Fosh woman.

"I'm glad that he is here," he said. "Having support from the local elites is always a good thing. We are glad for his assistance in helping relocate this event on short notice."

"You don't think of him as a traitor to the Jedi?" the Fosh continued.

"No. He made his choice. He has never betrayed the Jedi Order," _to my knowledge,_ he almost added.

"We even shared a ride here today," said Nara. "There's no ill will between the Jedi Order and Dooku."

"What do you think about Count Dooku's comments on the Jedi Order being obsolete?" asked a Gran.

"I respect his opinion," he said patiently, "But I would also disagree. For obvious reasons."

"Would you say that the Jedi should do more to evolve alongside the Republic?" asked a Twi'lek.

"I think that like any institution, the Jedi have become set in their ways to a certain extent," he responded. "I personally would like the Jedi Order to address the root causes of some issues, rather than dealing with the results."

"And how would you do that without overstepping your authority?" the same Twi'lek asked.

He held his hands up, "I don't know. I think we need to work with local governments more, as opposed to waiting for a call for help."

That answer set off a small debate amongst the assembled crowd, and Sascha and Nara were more than happy to take a step back from being the focus of the debate. Then, at an opportune moment, he pulled Nara off to the side where they could talk in private, "Dooku's still here."

"I noticed," replied Nara. "He can't suspect us of anything though. He had plenty of chances to detain us, throw us off planet, or throw us in prison."

Sascha crossed his arms across his chest, "Agreed. So _why is he still here?_ "

Nara glanced over at the crowd surrounding Dooku, "I don't know."

Sascha wasn't sure why he was expecting Nara to have the answers to his question, but he was flummoxed nonetheless. "Here's a slightly easier question at least...where are we staying overnight?"

"We didn't get accommodations?" asked Nara.

"I was pretty sure that they came with being a part of the Summit," he replied. "But as we are sort of crashing this party, I'm not sure. Let's go ask someone at the front desk."

"We can always rent a hotel somewhere if we don't have accommodations," said Nara, ever the optimist.

"Let's just check with the front desk."

The two Jedi picked their way through the crowd and before long they were in line at the front desk, which was a temporary desk that had been set up in the main foyer of the Glickly Convention Centre. As there were only a few people in front of them, Sascha and Nara were seen to quickly.

The desk was manned by a forty-something woman who looked tired but energized. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tidy ponytail as she flicked through the three datapads that were set out in front of her. "How can I help you?" she asked before looking up. "...Master Jedi," she added.

Sascha let Nara take the lead. Nara put on her most winning smile, "I was wondering about accommodations. I understand that we arrived uninvited, but is there perhaps a room that Sascha and I could stay in during the event? We'd only need one room."

"Staying in a room with you is _such_ a joy, Nara," he joked.

The woman ignored his playful joke, "Hmmm...all the attendees of the Summit were assigned rooms, but with the even being moved to Serenno at such a late date, we don't really have any to spare. Let me check though," The woman rifled through her assorted datapads which what was really frightening speed. Sascha stood there, amazed and entranced until the woman looked back up, "No, I'm sorry, we don't have anything available for tonight, perhaps some of the delegations will not show up, so I could maybe get your something for tomorrow?'

"That's okay," said Nara, still smiling, "We'll go and find lodging for ourselves. Thank you for your help."

"My pleasure, Master Jedi." The woman waved the next person in line to her desk, "Next!"

The two Padawans headed for the exit, intent on flagging down a speeder that would take them to a hotel with some vacancies. On their way to the exit, like a looming specter, was Count Dooku.

The two Padawans tried to ignore Dooku, but like something out of a bad dream, Dooku stepped into their path, "Leaving so soon, Padawans?"

"It turns out we don't have a hotel to stay in," he said politely. "Nara and I were just going to going to see if we can find a hotel to stay in."

"That's preposterous, is there nothing the management can do?" asked Dooku.

Sascha became aware that a crowd was starting to surround and observe them. He also realized that Dooku was playing to the crowd, trying to seem sympathetic to the future leaders of these planets. What Dooku's endgame was, he had no idea. He was starting to get some ideas though.

"We talked to the staff at the front," said Nara, calmly placing her hands behind her back. "There are no available vacancies. Really, Master Dooku, it's no problem. We'll be right back."

"I see," said Dooku, placing a hand on his chin, "Well I have plenty of room at my estate, I'd be happy to have you as honored guests during your stay."

Sascha couldn't quite conceal his dread at that scenario. The less time spend around Dooku, the better. Though he had no idea what the other parts of the team were doing, he didn't want to put the others at risk by having them be around. "We couldn't possibly..."

"I insist," said Dooku, putting a little steel into his voice.

Sascha briefly looked over at Nara. The Togruta seemed to be unhappy with the way this conversation was going. It wasn't like they could turn down Dooku's seemingly benevolent offer, especially in public.

"Of course, Master Dooku, if we will not be a burden for you."

"You will not be a burden," Dooku assured them in his velvet voice, "You are honored guests. As is everyone here."

Sascha bowed politely to Dooku, showing his respect and gratitude. Nara aped his movement a half-second later.

A night of dancing at the opening banquet and then sleeping at Chez Dooku. What could _possibly_ go wrong. Judging by the way this mission was going, Sascha was just waiting for the first thing to go right.

* * *

Tyra Harker tugged on her Master's sleeve, "We should go."

"Go? We are almost inside Dooku's compound already!" Teff hissed.

"Sascha and Nara are inside," she said.

"What?"

"I can feel their presences nearby in the Force," she whispered. "They have to be inside, somewhere."

"They must be prisoners of Dooku," said Teff, gripping his lightsaber tightly.

"We don't know that," Tyra said patiently. "Sascha and Nara's presence in the Force doesn't seem to indicate that. We should regroup and see what we can find out. If they have been captured, they'll still be here tomorrow."

Teff looked around furtively, before nodding, "We will come back tomorrow with better information," he said. "Now lets make sure we get out of here unscathed."

The Master and Padawan duo stealthily retraced their steps and made their way back to the speeder that they had rented. A safe escape.

"Thank you for listening to me," said Tyra.

Teff shrugged and kept his eyes focused on the road in this unfamiliar world, "You were correct to temper my enthusiasm." Teff grinned slightly, "You know that I am always willing to take risks. I am glad that I have become better at choosing the right risks since picking you as my Padawan."

"You mean you've gotten better at listening to me," she replied.

"Take the compliment I've already given you, Padwan."

Tyra smiled to herself. She wasn't as close with her Master as Sascha was with his Master, but they had a very solid working relationship. This was as close to a 'good job' as she was going to get.

"I'm going to call Master Brynar, okay?" she said.

"Put it on speaker so I my participate." said Teff.

"Of course, Master."

Tyra's call to Sascha's Master was picked up after a few rings, "It's late, Padawan Harker, this better be good."

"Yes, Master Brynar," she said. "Well, it's not good...well I'm not sure what it is..." she trailed off.

"Spit it out, please," said Aurine.

"We went to Dooku's compound," she said, finding her words again. "We were almost inside, but when I reached into the Force, I sensed that Sascha and Nara were inside. We decided to abandon the mission and we left."

"Were you detected?" asked Tiplee, who was obviously now part of the conversation as well.

"No, we were never spotted," Tyra confirmed. "But Sascha and Nara.."

"Did you sense that they were in danger?" asked Aurine.

"No..." admitted Tyra. "But I only glanced into the Force briefly. I wanted to remained cloaked in the Force as much as possible."

"They were probably asleep," added Teff, "Given the time it was."

"I don't know what the Padawans are doing," said Aurine. "But they made some minor headlines by showing up at the Youth Leadership Summit without an invitation. Dooku also made an appearance at the opening event, so they probably spotted each other there. It seems unlikely that anything nefarious happened with both of them in the public eye." Aurine sighed, "But you never know. I guess Tiplee or myself will try to make contact with them tommorow to make sure that they are okay."

"Don't they have their comlinks?" asked Teff.

"They do," replied Tiplee. "However if they are at Dooku's compound, as you suggest, then making a call to their comlinks could be intercepted. I sensed no panic or pain from my Padawan, so I doubt that they are in danger. I'm sure there is some sort of logical explanation that eludes me at the moment."

Tyra glanced out the window and saw that they were almost back to Tefhit city, the closest major city to Dooku's compound. "We will await word, but our plan for tomorrow is to infiltrate Dooku's compound again and go snooping around. Who knows what we can find."

"I suspect that Dooku is not careless enough to leave incriminating info laying around," said Tiplee. "But I'll admit it is worth the risk."

"We'll do some more snooping of our own during the day," said Teff.

"Stay safe, Master Nal'ma, Padawan Harker," said Aurine. "We'll update you on the status of the Padawan, if we find anything."

"Keep in touch, Master Brynar," said Teff.

"Thank you for interrupting my sleep," said Aurine wryly.

"You were snoring anyways," said Tiplee.

"How was I snoring loud enough for you to hear me? We sleep in different rooms..."

Tyra shut off the comlink.

"Aren't you glad that you don't have Aurine as your Master?" asked Teff

"Yes, Master," said Tyra truthfully.

"We will try again tomorrow," said Teff. "Tomorrow we will find what we need from Dooku."

Somehow, Tyra Harker didn't think it would be that easy. Please be okay, Sascha. Please be okay, Nara.


	26. Chapter 26: Second Chances

**LordDarthYoda** \- We'll see what Dooku thinks in this chapter... He's not someone who is easy to plan against, to be sure!

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- Yes, Tyra and Teff's relationship has evolved off screen. So much can go wrong with Dooku involved...so let's see what goes wrong ;).

A/N - I've got nothing.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Second Chances**

"You really should have had some of the wine," said Count Dooku. "It was an excellent vintage. I should know. I chose it."

Nara Nalto couldn't bring herself to force another false smile onto her face. She was tired. Tired of faking.

She and Sascha had enjoyed themselves reasonably well at the opening gala to the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit. After the requisite speeches and the very good dinner there had been time for dancing, which _was_ one of her favourite pastimes. She and Sascha had danced together at first, drawing stares from the crowd, despite their homespun robes. Then she had danced with many of the other participants. Some were cute, some not so much, but the experience had been enjoyable. Flirting was fun. She wasn't always that good at it, and sometimes the boys weren't interested, but it always made her feel like she was a normal girl, just to dance and flirt like other girls her age.

Sascha had danced a little too, but as usual, he was more comfortable just chatting in a small group. Usually, there was at least one female admirer of Sascha in said group, but tonight it had seemed like no one was particularly interested in romancing Sascha Whitestar. She was sure Sascha hadn't minded. It was kind of crazy that no one wanted to flirt with Sascha, as he was pretty cute…and a Jedi. Usually that combination attracted people.

Nara shook her head, bringing her back to the present. "I don't really drink, Master Dooku," she said honestly. She didn't really like the feeling of drinking and being drunk. She had gotten drunk a couple of times, usually under her Master's quiet supervision. Nara had never felt like being drunk had enhanced her enjoyment, and given she didn't generally enjoy the taste alcoholic beverages, it was easy to abstain from them.

Sascha, who was sitting close beside her, smiled a bit. He'd had maybe a couple of ales at the event and seemed to be in a good mood, though he was certainly not drunk.

The two Padwans and the former Jedi Master were heading back to Dooku's compound after leaving the gala. She and Sascha had stayed out late, hoping that the ever present specter of Dooku would just…go away. Unfortunately, Dooku seemed to be enjoying having direct access to the best and brightest of the upcoming generation, continuing to hold court and lecture anyone who would listen to him. Which, Nara was discovering, was a _lot_ of people.

"Does your Master not let you drink?" asked Dooku. "Your Masters are not here, you can help yourself, if you wanted."

Dooku appeared to be slightly drunk himself, but Nara wasn't sure if he actually was. Slightly inebriated or not, Dooku was still Dooku. "If I wanted to get drunk, I would. I felt like it would not set a good example though," she said.

Dooku smiled at Sascha, "See how she refutes my point and yet subtly wounds me at the same time. You have a sharp one there"

"She's very clever," said Sascha. "Though she doesn't like to think of herself as such."

"I see," said Dooku. "So you two have history together."

The Sascha Whitestar that was completely sober would have probably known to shut his mouth. Sascha Whitestar after two ales apparently did not.

"We've been through thick and thin together," he said, putting an arm around her. "I couldn't ask for a better friend or partner."

Sascha usually would have removed his arm pretty quickly from around her shoulder, but this time...he didn't. Nara usually would have slapped his arm off her shoulder...but for whatever reason...she didn't want to. She came to her senses quickly enough and shuffled away from him. "Sascha's a great friend," she said quietly.

Dooku observed them with the faintest outline of a smile on his face, "I see."

Nara quickly wanted to change the topic, so she did. "What are your plans for tomorrow, Master Dooku?"

Dooku waved a hand, "It's the first day of the Summit itself. I'll the youth have their fun tomorrow. There will be more time for me to attend later on in the week."

Nara almost allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief, "We appreciate you allowing us to stay in your home tonight, but I'm sure Sascha and I can find somewhere more appropriate to stay tomorrow."

"Ah," said Dooku, scratching at his beard, "Your Masters will not be happy to learn that you stayed at my home."

"No. I imagine they'll have a fit when they find out," she said.

"Well I will not stand in your way," said Dooku. "I would have thought that you would have been more interested in learning my side of the story."

"What story?" asked Sascha.

"The story of why I left the Jedi," said Dooku as a small bump in the road knocked the passengers into the air temporarily.

"It's not exactly like there was a news bulletin that went around the Jedi Temple," said Sascha. "We don't know a lot of the details. And to most, it didn't matter. Anyone who left the Jedi was not to be discussed."

"People talked," added Nara. "But never in public."

"The Jedi closed ranks as usual. I should have suspected as much," said Dooku, glancing out the closest window to him. "As much as we debate within the hallowed walls of the Jedi Temple, we never admit as much as soon as we leave them." Dooku looked back at the Padwans, "I don't miss much about the Jedi Order, but I do miss the Temple, the way the Force hummed in there, the concentration of many Force users all working together for one goal."

"You can always come back," said Sascha, quietly, earnestly. "The Jedi always forgive."

"Not one of 'the lost nineteen," Dooku smiled wryly, "I suppose they'll call it the Lost Twenty now. Much more of an even number. How does my bust look? Accurate, I hope?"

"It is," she said. Nara had walked past the row of the busts of the 'Lost Twenty' in the Archives many different times. Of course, since nineteen of the Jedi Masters who had voluntarily left the Jedi Order were deceased, it hadn't been particularly interesting to her.

"And yet I still haven't gotten around to my story, how rude of me," said Dooku.

Nara admitted that Dooku had a certain charisma to him, with his low, powerful voice that Nara had to _just_ strain to hear and his way with words, she could imagine lesser beings falling under his sway pretty easily.

"I'd be interested to hear it," said Sascha. It _would_ be nice if Sascha knew to shut his yap, thought Nara. The thought of punching Sascha was very appealing at the moment.

"Your Togruta friend doesn't seem to be as interested," mused Dooku.

"This Togruta has a name," Nara retorted, actually, legitimately annoyed.

Dooku bowed, "My apologies, I didn't intend to offend you, Miss Nalto."

Nara didn't buy that Dooku was actually contrite for a moment. Dooku was enjoying himself too much to actually feel bad for anything he said. Nara decided not to accept the offered apology, choosing to stay silent.

Sascha turned to her and nudged her shoulder lightly, obviously encouraging her to say something. But her mind was made up, gentle encouraging from Sascha or no.

"I suppose I should just get to the story," said Dooku wearily.

Nara couldn't wait for the story to be over.

"I have always been headstrong. I will admit that. I think Master Yoda was just about sick of me when he nominated me to take the trials."

"It's hard to imagine Master Yoda losing patience with anyone," said Sascha.

"You don't know him as well as I do," said Dooku. "Yoda is demanding of those he has expectations for. He's quite capable of playing the doddering old man, but he can be a task-master too when it suits him." Dooku shook his head, "I think that I might have been the reason that Yoda hasn't taken on another Padawan since me. I think I broke him, to a certain extent."

Nara held back a guffaw and let Dooku continue.

"By the end of my apprenticeship it was Temple scuttlebutt that I was going to be the next Grand Master of the Jedi Order. However, it was not a role that I thought of myself ever wanting." Dooku shrugged self-deprecatingly, "Of course, when you are in your early twenties, the thoughts of adventure are more exciting than sitting around in the Council Chambers."

"I can see how that is," said Sascha.

Dooku nodded at Sascha, "It was when I finally went on missions without Yoda by my side that I found the flaws of the Jedi Order laid bare."

"While I was with Master Yoda, there was always a degree of respect given, for Yoda's long service and his unquestioned wisdom. I also came to figure out that Yoda cherry-picked his missions, rarely choosing ones where there was true danger involved." Dooku hesitated, "In fairness, I believe that Yoda chose missions where his presence would have the most impact. There was no sense sending the Jedi Grand Master to a planet that would never listen to a Jedi, for instance."

"I can understand how that might be a difficult transition," said Sascha. "Many Knights say that their first few years as a Jedi Knight say that they are as tough as their first few years as a Padawan."

Nara shot Sascha a look. What the heck was he doing, playing sympathetic to Dooku? Maybe he was more drunk than she thought he was.

Dooku though, seemed caught up in his own story. "It was hard to go from being with one of the most revered beings in the galaxy to 'just another' Jedi. I know that will seem condescending, but that was the culture shock that I got. However, through my experiences I found that as Jedi, all we managed to do was patch things up temporarily before leaving, only to have things inevitably fall back into the way things were before we came. The tools that we are allowed to use, mediation, diplomacy, they can only go so far," said Dooku.

"What else would you have us do, Master Dooku? We can't go around ruling like lords," said Sascha.

"No," agreed Dooku. "But I feel that the Jedi Order is too detached from reality. And the reality is that the Republic, as fantastic a concept as it is, is failing. It is failing its people. It has fallen prey to corporations and lobbyists and influencing. It can no longer answer the problems that are presented to it. And the Jedi refuse to take action, they refuse to investigate corrupt Senators, they don't take proactive measures. If the Jedi want to save the Republic, they need to act."

"So that is why you left?" Nara asked, incredulous. This was basically the same spiel she had heard from graduate students to Jedi Knights.

"It is the failure of the Jedi Order's leadership to admit that nothing was wrong that is at the core of my complaint," said Dooku, harshly. "They live in their little bubble in the Temple and do not see the realities." But Dooku shrugged, "If that was the only thing that bothered me, I probably would have stayed with the Jedi Order. However it was the senseless loss of my former Padawan that really pushed me over the edge."

"The Jedi Order misses Qui-Gon Jinn," Sascha said saccharinely.

"I miss him more than most," said Dooku. Real emotion played over his face and Nara's maternal instincts wanted to kick in. She kicked those instincts back where they belonged.

"But death is unavoidable," said Dooku, regaining his composure. "And I would accept his death, had it not been one that could have been easily avoided. The Council didn't want to interfere in the Naboo crisis, even though many Jedi ached to be involved. They wanted the Senate to okay a mission, even though peacekeeping is our number one directive. The Jedi Order should have taken two hundred Jedi Knights and wiped the Trade Federation off the map. Instead it sent a Master and a Padawan, and only half the Jedi returned. Indefensible." Dooku at this point was almost quaking with rage.

"I realized that if the Jedi would not change, than I could no longer represent it. So I returned to my ancestral home here, and thought about how I might best help the galaxy."

Nara noticed that the speeder was slowing to a halt. That meant they must be at Dooku's home. Perfect timing too as Nara was just about sick of Count Dooku.

* * *

Fortunately for Nara, Count Dooku seemed to have had enough of dealing with them. As soon as he got inside, he activated a protocol droid and had the droid escort the Padawans down a long series of hallways until they came to a pair of rooms just off a branch of the main hallway. "These are your rooms," the silver protocol droid said in a robotic but melodious tone. "Master Dooku would prefer that you stay in this section of the estate until morning. Your rooms should have everything that you need. Should you need me, you can contact me anytime throughout the night. Any questions?"

"No, thank you," Nara said. She just wanted to be left alone with Sascha.

"Have a pleasant night," the protocol droid said before whirring its way back the way they had came.

The Jedi waited until the droid was out of earshot before going their separate rooms. Nara paused at her door, "Wait, Sascha...maybe we should sleep together in the same room."

Sascha, his eyes beginning to close with fatigue, turned and looked at her in confusion, "Huh?"

Nara didn't really want to get into her reasoning too much while they were in the hallway, "It's safer for us to be in the same room," she said simply.

Sascha seemed to be too tired to object, "Let's just make sure the bed is big enough."

The two Padawans entered the bedroom, only to start laughing.

The bed that was in their room was _humongous._ It probably could have fit a family of four Gammoreans.

"I'll take the left side, you take the right side," Sascha said dryly.

Nara smirked. That was _such_ a Sascha joke. She really did like his sense of humor, it was probably the thing she missed most when they were separated.

The two Padawans got changed for bed (they basically slept in the same clothes that they walked around in, with few exceptions.) Nara slid into bed and got under the covers. This bed was _nice_. The sheets were warm and comfortable without being too hot. Considering that this was the guest room, she could only imagine how nice Dooku's actual room was.

"Must be nice, being rich," said Sascha.

"I'll let you know when I become rich," Nara said.

"Why did you want to sleep in the same room, Nara?"

"I told you, security. Dooku's well...Dooku."

"And it has nothing to do with wanting to cuddle," he said.

"Do you see us, cuddling, Sascha?" she said defensively.

"No...and look I'm not complaining. Let's just get a good night's sleep, Nara."

Sascha turned away from her. A few minutes later, Sascha's breathing slowed and Nara could tell that he was asleep. She glanced over to look at him. He looked so calm and peaceful as he laid there. His hair was slightly disheveled (well, more than usual), but for some reason Nara just wanted to stare at him for a couple of long moments. She sighed to herself, turned away and got comfortable. Hopefully she'd be able to sleep well in these unfamiliar surroundings.

* * *

Nara slept pretty well, all things concerning. Fortunately enough her life was not some lame comedy where she woke up being curled around Sascha Whitestar. Thank goodness. They just slept in the same bad, end of story.

The two Padawans were summoned by Dooku to have breakfast with him, at which point they would be free of him. Nara couldn't wait.

When they arrived at Dooku's (obviously beautiful) kitchen, Dooku was already seated and drinking what looked to be a very expensive (and nice smelling) caf. The Count himself was dressed in simple clothes that could have been taken from a mechanic on his day off. Dooku glanced up as the Padawans entered, "Good morning,"

"Good morning," she replied out of habit.

Dooku waved at the spread of fruits and other foods that were on another table, "I didn't know what you would want to have for breakfast, so I got a bit of everything."

"Everything is my favourite," said Nara dryly.

Dooku shot her a slightly wounded look, and Nara felt guilty about her glib remark. She wasn't going to apologize though.

"Thank you, Master Dooku," said Sascha. Who needed to apologize when you had Sascha around?

"What time do you need to leave today?" asked Dooku. "I'll make sure that my driver gets your there on time."

"We'd like to get there in two hours," replied Sascha.

"Then I will ensure that you are there."

Nara piled her plate high with fruits and then sat at the table, joining Sascha and Dooku. One last conversation with Dooku, thought Nara. Then we'll be out of here, never to return."

"How did you sleep?" asked Dooku mildly.

"We slept well," said Nara.

"It is always nice to sleep with someone that you love," Dooku said offhandedly.

Nara felt her...entire body warm up in embarrassment. Dooku knew that she and Sascha had slept in the same bed? Nara tried to open her mouth and find some sort of witty retort, but her mind was absolutely frozen. Beside her, Sascha's pale cheeks showed off a deep embarrassment as well. Obviously Dooku (or someone inside the house) had monitored the two of them.

Dooku seemed uninterested, though amused by the reactions of the young Jedi, "It is fine. I understood from the moment that I saw the both of you that you had a special connection. Unlike some Jedi, I see no problem with having a boyfriend or girlfriend as the case may be."

"We are _not_ boyfriend and girlfriend," she said hotly.

"Far be it for me to judge," said Dooku.

"And where do you get off spying on us!" said Nara, almost spilling her drink.

"I thought you were spies from Mace Windu," said Dooku. "I could tell that you were hiding some sort of secret from the moment I met you two. But its clear that _this_ was the secret that you were protecting."

Nara felt lightheaded. Dooku had suspected that they were spies? How close had they been to ending up in some dungeon deep in the depths of Dooku's estate?

Sascha nudged her, hard. The message was obvious. If Dooku thought that they were a couple, they needed to act like it for the next few hours. Then they could go back to...not being boyfriend and girlfriend.

"We're pretty lousy spies," she said truthfully.

"I noticed," Dooku said, a glimmer of amusement in his eye. "I do suggest that if you would like to continue your little dalliance, I don't mind if a pair of young lovers have sanctuary in my home."

Nara quickly weighed up the options. The easy answer would be to say that they valued Dooku's hospitality but they wanted to be closer to the event. On the other hand, being inside Dooku's estate left open the possibility for snooping...

Nara was about to answer when Sascha started speaking, "We'll decline," said Sascha gracefully. "I'm honoured by your suggestion, but our Masters would probably kill us if we stayed one more second than necessary at your estate."

Dooku looked like he'd lost interest in them entirely, "Well that is the sensible answer." He stood from the table and bowed slightly, "I doubt our paths will cross again. If you ever find yourselves questioning the Jedi Order like I did, know that my door is always open."

And with that Dooku was gone. Where he left to, Nara didn't know, nor was she intent on figuring out. She glanced over at Sascha. Sascha blushed and glanced downward at his bowl of fruits.

"Hey, Sascha?"

"Yeah?"

"We good?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sascha replied noncommittally.

Nara was pretty sure that was a sign that he didn't want to talk. What a wonderful morning this was turning out to be.

* * *

Tyra Harker waited as surreptitiously as possible outside of the Glickly Convention Centre, waiting for Sascha and Nara to appear. The fact that she could sense them in the Force was good. After last night, when she'd sensed them inside of Dooku's estate, she'd really feared for their safety. But now she could sense their presences growing stronger, which meant that they were getting closer. All she had to do was find them and then pull them aside to figure out what the hell had happened last night and how they had come to spend a night at Chez Dooku.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if both Padawans could have somehow been caught and brainwashed by Dooku, or if they were being forced to come here not by their own free will. As ever, when Tyra's mind wasn't occupied, it drifted to weird places.

Finally, she spotted what looked like a luxury speeder making its way to the front entrance. Inside, she spotted both Sascha and Nara, looking calm and solemn.

Tyra walked quickly, emerging from the shadows where she had been hiding and getting both Jedi's attention. The other two Padawans nodded upon noticing her and followed her back to the little hideout she had found in an alley, not far from the Convention Centre. It wasn't total privacy, but it would have to do.

"Tyra, I'm glad to see you," said Sascha.

"Quiet," Tyra said, shushing her best friend. "No time for small talk. Why the hell were the two of you inside Dooku's estate last night?"

"He, uh...invited us to stay the night," Nara stammered.

Tyra wasn't sure why both Nara and Sascha were both being so awkward, but she didn't care. "And you forgot to say no?"

"It didn't seem like we had an option," said Sascha.

Tyra shook his head, she didn't really care about the reasoning of Sascha and Nara and how they had taken leave of their wits. "What happened while you were there?"

"He came just short of accusing us of being sent to spy on him, but we managed to diffuse that idea," said Sascha. "He's going to have his guard up."

"Wonderful," said Tyra. "Great job guys." She gave Sascha a sarcastic pat on the back.

Nara gave her a shove, "Hey! You have no idea what our choices were! So cool it!"

Sascha interposed himselves between her and Nara, "Let's not do this. You can beat the heck out of each other back at the Temple, okay?"

Tyra was still pretty pissed, but she was willing to see the bigger picture. "Nothing we can change about what happened. Do you have any idea about what Dooku is up to? Where he's going to be, events he's going to attend?"

Sascha shook his head, "We didn't want to be too intrustive," he said.

"But he's still going to be giving his keynote speech in a three days," said Nara. "And he seemed interested in going on the wilderness retreat in two days. That's all we know." The Togruta looked down, "Sorry."

Tyra clenched a fist behind her back, "It's okay. Just continue to play your role. I'll make contact with you again tommorow. Same place, same time, okay?"

Sascha and Nara both nodded.

"Just go. And don't blow your cover," Tyra dismissed her fellow Padawans.

"Stay safe, Tyra," said Sascha, before turning to follow Nara.

Tyra waited until they were gone and then sighed. The impossible mission keept getting harder. Time to go back to her Master and come up with a new plan.


	27. Chapter 27: Direct and to the Point

**LordDarthYoda** \- Dooku is a master manipulator, and he sees the weaknesses that Nara and Sascha have...and he just gives them the right nudge. They probably don't even know that they are being manipulated. I do love writing Dooku, because he's the sort of villain I can have 'win' and not have it make our characters feel weak.

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- Sascha is prone to occasional lapses in judgement...just like all of us. It did end up kind of helping in the end, though ;).

A/N - Getting to a subplot I've loooong delayed in getting to. Don't worry it won't dominate the story...

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Direct and to the Point**

Aurine Brynar generally had a lot of faith in her Padawan. Sascha had proved over and over again that he was reliable and he made good decisions. However, sometimes she had cause to second guess the faith that she had in him. Today was proving to be one of those days.

"He did WHAT?" she nearly shouted at Tyra Harker. Tyra physically shrunk a little at her outburst, "Sorry Tyra," she apologized quickly. She must have really shouted loudly to cow Tyra Harker, even a little.

"They must have done it for a good reason," soothed Tiplee. "We are not in a position to second guess them."

Aurine did not agree. What the Padawans did was deliberately antagonize the target that they were supposed to be spying on. Their goal had been to be a distraction by attending the conference, but now they had done the opposite, drawing Dooku's eye. Though Tyra could not give them a full report, she expected that Tyra was curating her account of what had happened, in order to paint what Sascha and Nara did in the best of light. It wasn't working.

"Tiplee is right," said Teff. "They can be reprimanded when we get a full story from them. But for now we need to re-think our strategy. Dooku is aware that he may be being spied on. We need to do something different."

"Different how?" she growled. "Getting information out of Dooku was already going to be nigh impossible, and now that he's tipped off to the fact that a Jedi might be spying on him, its going to be harder."

"Dooku probably suspected that someone would be sent to spy on him from the beginning," said Tiplee. "I don't see our mission becoming that much harder now. It _does_ call for a slight recalculation of our strategy, I think."

"I think it calls for bold action," said Teff. "Dooku is expecting something from the Jedi Order, let us try to deceive him. Give him something he does not expect"

"Trying to deceive a deceiver is something that usually ends poorly," said Tiplee.

"Then what? We do nothing?" retorted Teff.

"We are doing something. We are planning," said Tiplee stoically.

"Masters, may I say something?" asked Tyra, interrupting an awkward moment. Upon receiving nods from the assembled Jedi Knights, Tyra continued, "I think that maybe we should admit this plan has been a failure and return to the Temple."

Teff looked sternly at his apprentice, "One setback does not mean that we should abandon our overall plan."

"I'm not sure we can afford to back out now," said Tiplee to Tyra sympathetically. "Our task is very difficult, but retreating gets us nowhere."

Tyra nodded in a subdued fashion and retreated behind her Master. It was clear that the Padawan wanted no more to do with this discussion, but decorum prevented her from leaving her Master's side.

"What are our options?" she asked the room. "What do we know about Dooku that we didn't know before?"

"We know where he'll physically be in a few days' time," said Tyra. "We know he'll be delivering his keynote address at the Youth Summit. He may be going on the wilderness retreat tomorrow. This is all according to Sascha and Nara."

"Dooku won't miss the chance to give a speech," said Aurine. "We know he'll be there. The question is what we want to do with that information."

"You won't like my answer," said Teff with a little smile, "But I say we break in to Dooku's estate while he is at the conference and see what we can find."

Aurine was slightly shocked by Teff's blunt idea. While breaking into Dooku's estate was hardly a new idea, the idea that he would still propose it took her aback. "If he thinks the Jedi are going to spy on them, he'll have good security in place," she pointed out.

Teff, for once, didn't disagree with her, "I think we make that a feature of our plan."

"Excuse me?" said Tiplee.

"Dooku expects that the Jedi are going to spy on him. So, let's fulfill what he wants. I think I should get 'caught' by Dooku as well."

"You still want to go ahead with that plan?" asked Tiplee. The Rishati's tone was open, not hostile.

Teff nodded and shifted his weight on his feet, "It makes me deeply uneasy to attempt such a deception, but I feel like the more we learn about Dooku, the more we realize that we don't know anything about him. I know I'm taking my life in my hands, but I am not sure I see any other choice."

"I think it's a terrible plan," she said bluntly. "However it might be the best plan that we have."

"I agree," said Tyra quietly as she shuffled to be closer to her Master, a quiet sign of loyalty and respect.

"I have an idea of how I want this to go," said Teff, his lekku betraying some of his nervousness now. "I think that I will present myself to Dooku's guards and let them 'capture' me. While they are distracted, Tyra should sneak inside to see if she can find something. Maybe find a computer terminal that is unsecured…anything. That way there is potential to find out further information. Tyra's priority would be to escape, however." Teff placed a hand on Tyra's shoulder, "I trust her to make the right decisions."

Tyra nodded and smiled at her Master, but made no comment. To Aurine's eye, Tyra looked nervous. Probably was pretty nervous about invading Dooku's compound on her own.

"I think one of us should stay close by to Dooku's estate so that Tyra can make an easier escape," she suggested.

"I will do it," replied Tiplee instantly.

"I was going to do it," Aurine replied.

Tiplee smiled, showing teeth, "I'm the better driver, and thus the better choice."

Aurine really wanted to object, but grudgingly had to nod. Tiplee was a slightly better driver than she was. While she would say that she was the better pilot, on the ground or near the ground, the Rishati was almost unnaturally good.

"So, I guess the only thing to decide is when we attempt the break in," she said. "Do we wait for Dooku to be at the Summit, or do we do it tonight?"

"I say we be patient," said Tiplee. "There is no need to rush."

"I agree," said Teff. "We will wait."

* * *

Sascha Whitestar was getting really tired of defending the actions of the Jedi Order. During the first day of the Tykon Youth Summit, Sascha had felt like he was on trial for every action of every Jedi Knight in the past ten years.

The Summit had broken into small groups of about ten, and these groups were supposed to discuss the problems and challenges of their planets, as well as maybe a few ideas of how to fix them. These sessions lasted about fifteen minutes and then they went on to another group of young leaders.

Sascha thought that it was a good idea, and a good format, but it had quickly turned into a referendum on the Jedi Order and its interventions, or lack thereof on their planets. He supposed, that there was plenty of time to discuss the issues of their own planets in the other sessions.

"The Jedi came to Ascan IV, and they left it with only some problems resolved!" accused an irate young man. "The good things that they did manage to do reversed themselves almost immediately!"

Sascha hadn't the faintest idea what the issues were on Ascan IV nor which Jedi had actually been there. However, he felt like he had to defend the honor of the Jedi Order. "I am not familiar with the situation on your planet," he apologized. "However the resources of the Jedi Order are limited..."

"Limited?" scoffed a Rodian. "Your entire Order is based on the top level of Coruscant, where you live in a giant temple. You cannot beg _poverty_. That is absurd."

Sascha tried to remain calm, "I mean that we have only so many members and many demands from our assistance. We try to keep our missions limited in their scope because of this."

"I agree with the Jedi," said a young man with shockingly long, red hair. "There is only so much that they can do."

Sascha nodded the last speaker out of respect, before turning back to the group, "I am not saying that we are perfect. In fact, I would like ideas for how we can improve. That's why I'm heere"

The red haired young man spoke again, "I agree. This means that we should disband the Jedi Order as it exists right now. Make it responsible to the Senate, to the people."

Sascha sighed, "I don't think that would solve anything, unfortunately."

"Why not?" accused the man from Ascan IV. "If the Jedi were organized and under the control of the central government. They could be held accountable for their actions."

"We'd end up just another wing of the Judicials," Sascha snapped, losing his patience at last. "And then we'd end up as the Senate or the Chancellor's personal errand boys. Then, perhaps their enforcers. Don't any of you see that having the Jedi be apolitical that it is the only way we can avoid being entangled by politics?"

"The Jedi need to be _more_ entangled in politics," retorted the Ascanian. "You are too aloof, too far apart from the common person to have the impact you should have on us all. Look at what Dooku is doing here. He is here, he is interacting with us, he takes our opinions seriously." The Ascanian made a dismissive gesture, "All the Jedi could do was send a pair of apprentices to this conference."

Sascha looked around the small group, hoping to find someone that would speak up on his behalf, on behalf of the Jedi Order. A few of the people in the group clearly disagreed with their colleagues, but none of them wanted to vocalize it. He was on his own.

But really...did he even want to argue with these people? He wasn't going to convince them. It wasn't like he had some brilliant counter argument that could persuade these brilliant young men and women. All he had was the same arguments that he'd voiced again and again. What was the point?

The Jedi Order was being held to an impossible standard. Sascha almost sympathized with Dooku.

* * *

Nara Nalto was pretty good at reading Sascha's mood. Being one of his two best friends, that kind of came with the territory. As Sascha came back to the room that they had rented, she could immediately tell that Sascha had taken the morning session of the Youth Summit rather badly.

Her experience hadn't been great, but she had learned to not take things too personally. Yes, these young people had expectations that the Jedi Order could not possibly match, but Nara just stood her ground and defended the Jedi Order the best she could. She knew that she couldn't change anyone's mind with just a few words, she would have to set an example that would endure after these young men and women grew out of their idealistic stage.

Sascha tended to take things more personally than she did. That, plus Sascha's tendency towards self-doubt, meant that her friend was in a bad mood. Fortunately, being around Sascha as much as she had, she knew how to get his mind off these things.

"Hey Sascha," she said, welcoming Sascha.

Sascha acknowledged her with a glum smile.

"Ready?" she asked.

Sascha looked confused. "For what?"

"For this!" she said, jumping up and tackling Sascha to the ground. She quickly started looking for control of Sascha's limbs, but she had 'ambushed' Sascha enough times like this for him to be ready for a fight, as he twisted his body and escaped her grasp before she could secure control of him. He scrambled to his knees and she did similar. The two Padawans stared at each other.

"Are we really going to do this?" he asked.

"Grappling practice is a pretty good way to get frustration out," she said. "And there isn't enough space in this room for full contact kickboxing."

Sascha hesitated for a moment, and then started the attack.

She and Sascha wrestled for an advantage for a minute, with both of them getting temporary advantages and then losing them. Nara felt herself smiling. Grappling practice was fun, she enjoyed being up close and with her opponent. She had done this enough with Sascha that they both knew each other's preferences and best moves. She loved joint locks, and was usually looking to grab at Sascha's arm so that she could work towards an armbar. Sascha was a bit more well rounded and something of an opportunist, he would take the chances if they came.

And it was Nara's intent to let Sascha win this first round. So she let herself get a bit sloppy, and Sascha took advantage, getting his legs wrapped around her midsection. She bucked and tried to fight back, but she was sunk and she knew it. All she could do was try and try to prevent his arm from snaking underneath her chin. As she fought, she could feel that Sascha was getting annoyed.

"You know, in a real fight, I could just punch you," Sascha said cheerfully.

"In a real fight, I'd try to lean back and headbutt you," she retorted.

"In a real fight we wouldn't talk...and gotcha!"

While she was distracted by the conversation, Sascha had successfully gotten his right arm under her chin. There was basically no way for her to fight back, so usually she'd just fight for a few seconds and then submit, but for whatever reason, she didn't feel like it today. Today she was enjoying the sensation of having Sascha pressed so closely around her. His breath hot against her Montrals, his strong arms and legs holding on to her tightly. It just felt...good to be in close contact with Sascha.

Nara snapped out of it and quickly tapped her surrender against Sascha's shoulder. Sascha uncharacteristically didn't release her right away. Maybe he was enjoying it too?

After a moment, Sascha pushed her away and rolled back to his knees. "Go again?" he asked.

"Yes," Nara answered quickly. A part of her mind protested the decision that she had just made, but a stronger part of her brain really wanted to keep grappling with Sascha.

The two Padawans went back to the grappling, this time Nara didn't want to lose, she want to put Sascha on his back and assert her dominance. She and Sascha proved to be pretty evenly matched. She was better at creating openings, but Sascha was better at escaping. A couple of times, she thought that she had Sascha in a bad position, only for him to wriggle, worm and sneak his way out. The fact that he was physically stronger than her was also annoying and was an advantage for him.

Finally, Sascha slipped up, and Nara took advantage, grabbing control of his wrists. Eventually, she was able to force Sascha onto his back, and she pinned his hands over his head. Nara felt the fight go out of Sascha, as he looked up at her in her dominant position.

"I think...we should...stop..." Sascha said, breathing hard. His cheeks were slightly rosy as small beads of sweat were visible on his face. He'd never looked better to Nara Nalto.

"You're just saying that because I'm winning," Nara replied, feeling her heart beating faster. She was certainly pressed up against Sascha in an intimate manner.

"You know why we should stop," said Sascha.

Nara did. But she didn't want to stop.

"Nara," said Sascha patiently.

Nara's brain wrested back control of her body and she rolled off of Sascha. She bounced to her feet with ease and offered Sascha her hand. Sascha accepted it, using her hand to pull himself to his feet. They were still really close together though, and Nara could feel the tension between the two of them. It would have been an easy thing to just close her eyes, lean forward and...

Nara snapped out of it.

"We got a little carried away, didn't we?" she said, quickly retreating to her side of the room.

"That's one word for it," Sascha said.

"It's a good word."

"Do you want to talk?"

"We both know what is happening," she said shortly. "It's not like words are going to change that."

Sascha looked at the ceiling, "Okay, if you want to be like that. I'm going to go take a walk. I need to clear my head."

Nara waited for Sascha to exit the room before flopping dramatically on her bed. What the hell was happening here? Was she falling for Sascha? And was it because Dooku had mentioned it? Or had her feelings for Sascha just grown over time?

Did the reason even matter?

Damn.

* * *

Aurine Brynar was about to settle in for a meditation session before bed when her comlink rang. Sighing, she accepted the call without looking who the call was from, "Yes?"

"Aurine Brynar?"

She frowned, the voice sounded fairly familiar, but she couldn't place it. "That's me."

"This is Delx Greevenson. The journalist from a few days ago."

"Hi Delx. What can I do for you?" If Delx was going to invite her on a date, she was going to invite him to get a taste of her fist. It wouldn't be the first, nor probably the last time, some journalist or informant offered to show her what a 'real man' was like.

"I just got a tip from one of my informants," said Delx. "He said that 'something big' was going to happen at the Wilderness Retreat tomorrow. Dooku is rumored to be attending, is he not?"

"I have no idea," Aurine lied.

"Okay," said Delx. "Well, best I can tell, something is going to happen tomorrow, and I don't think its going to be Dooku making some sort of political statement. I think there is going to be violence. I checked the logs of incoming visitors to Serenno, and unless I missed my guess, I spotted some ships that looked like they belonged to some pretty famous bounty hunters landing at the Veekelt Spaceport. I don't think they are here for a pleasure cruise."

"But who is the target?" she asked, confused. "No bounty hunter is crazy enough to take on Dooku, unless they are being showered in credits."

"I don't know what their plan is," said Delx. "If I did, I'd tell you. I can do some digging if you want."

"No," she said quickly. The last thing she wanted was to have happen was have the Jedi interfering in whatever was happening on Serenno. "Thank you for this Delx. It is appreciated."

"No problem, Master Jedi. I'll continue passing along what I find on Dooku, but it would be nice if I could get some compensation..."

Aurine cut him off, "Send me a bank account and I'll see that funds are provided to it."

"Understood," said Delx stiffly.

Aurine ended the call and sought out Tiplee. The Rishati was in her room in the slightly rundown hotel that they were living in. The red-skinned Rishati sat straight up with her legs folded serenely underneath her. Aurine didn't like interrupting Tiplee's meditations, but she wanted the Rishati's opinion, so she used her foot to prod at Tiplee's thigh.

A few moments later, Tiplee's eyes opened, "Sometimes I can't figure out who is more annoying, you, or my apprentice."

"It's me," smiled Aurine.

"I tend to agree," said Tiplee, still remaining in her meditative pose. "What is it."

"The journalist that we spoke to a few days ago contacted me again. He said that one of the informants that he has told him that 'something big' was going to happen at the Wilderness Retreat tomorrow. Then he sort of implied that Dooku may be a target of some bounty hunters. What do you want to do?"

Tiplee considered for a moment and then shrugged, "There is nothing we can do."

Aurine didn't think the Rishati would be so blase about the information. "Explain, please."

"We are supposed to not be here. If we suddenly appear at the conference, Dooku will be on his toes in perpetuity. So we must remain hidden. Simple as that."

Aurine snapped her fingers, "I hate that answer."

Tiplee shrugged, "Too bad. I am sure Sascha and Nara will be fine."

"You are so confident," she said in amazement.

Tiplee finally stood, "I've spent a lot of time meditating on this mission. I sense that the Padawans will have their own challenge, but I don't think that they are in any physical danger. Do you?"

Aurine had to agree. She had sensed no threat towards her apprentice. "We should do something tomorrow. Something besides sitting around and waiting."

"I have to be back for the mission at night, but I suppose we could do something during the day," said Tiplee. "Have any ideas?"

"One," she said. "It's dumb, but it might work. Dooku's got a lot of enemies, right? What if we meet with one of them? We might learn something."

"They also might betray us to Dooku," Tiplee pointed out.

"We just have to find one that has no incentive to betray us. Someone who Dooku ruined. I'm sure Delx can give us a few names," she said, already warming to the idea.

"I agree. We need more information on Dooku. This is one way to get it."

Aurine activated her comlink and smiled, "Hey, Delx. I will send you a few credits if you can do something for me..."


	28. Chapter 28: Too Much of Heaven

**LordDarthYoda** \- Oh, I think all of those people probably attended in their day. "Dooku is the only winner in the end." Well...that might be what happens :P. Dooku's got everyone playing to the beat of his own drum.

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- 'the Jedi plan and prepare and all hell breaks loose.' The motto of this story :p. Nara and Sascha were basically fated to fall for each other, and now was a _really_ inconvenient time to discover that.

 **Nuada Silverhand-** Yep, we are getting into the thick of things now! Dooku is basically running rings around all of them :p. "If they do sneak anything past him, it's gonna be because of his arrogance." Hmm...thats a rather good guess, I think.

 **KY96-** Yeah no one is invincible in this story and no one is OP...they are just... _Jedi_. Thanks for commenting (and for reading a whole bunch of stories!)

A/N - There was supposed to be another part to this chapter, but I've been sick this weekend so..I didn't get around to it, unfortunately. Stupid work and life getting in the way of writing :p.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Too Much of Heaven  
**

The next day Sascha Whitestar was still feeling rather confused. He had taken a long walk last night after having that weird playfighting/grappling session with Nara. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to sort through his emotions.

Was he falling for Nara? It was possible, he had to admit to himself. But it seemed convenient for his feelings to manifest themselves now, just after Dooku had mentioned their connection. Maybe Dooku was playing some sort of mind game with him? Whatever had happened, he and Nara were now _extremely_ awkward around each other. Even being in the same room with her felt awkward. Fortunately, their accommodations were spacious enough that they were able to keep to themselves. And with the wilderness retreat being today, they'd be able to remain apart from each other today. Tomorrow...who knew.

Sascha knocked on Nara's door, "I'm going to go check in with Tyra, okay? We have half and hour to be at the meeting area, okay?"

"I'll be there," promised Nara, through the door.

Sascha let that be the end of the conversation. He took the short walk to the place where he and Nara had agreed to check in with Tyra every day. As usual, Tyra was waiting for him, dressed not as a Jedi, but as a someone her age might wear in a casual setting, beige blouse and pants. She looked strange to him, not being in her Jedi robe. A Jedi's robe was almost like a second set of skin.

"Hey Tyra," he said. He shot her a self-deprecating smile, "I'm still alive."

Tyra waved him closer. When he was nearby to her, she frowned, "Where's Nara?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Sascha was instantly put on edge, "She's not going to come. We are meeting up later."

Tyra snorted in amusement, "You two are usually attached at the hip."

Sascha rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah...I don't know if you'll see much of that anymore."

Tyra frowned in confusion and blew the small strands of hair that had fallen into in her eyes away, "Did you have a fight or something?"

"Uh, kind of the opposite."

Tyra frowned and then seemed to make the appropriate conclusion. "Oh. _Oh_!"

"Yeah..."

Tyra punched his shoulder in a friendly manner, "You didn't kiss her, did you?"

That was not the reaction he had been expecting from Tyra. He'd been expecting a lecture, or worse. "Uh...no. I, uh...wanted to, though." He sighed, "I really screwed up. I think I'll have to ask to not be assigned to the same mission as Nara for a while." The thought of being separated from Nara made him sad. He didn't want to lose her friendship, not when it had become such an integral part of his life.

"You are an idiot, Sascha Whitestar."

"What?"

Tyra smiled, "You and Nara might be the last two people to realize the truth."

Sascha was beginning to lose his patience with his longtime friend, "Just say it, Tyra!"

"It's obvious that the two of you love each other."

Sascha physically stumbled backwards and comically, almost fell over.

Tyra almost laughed at him. "Sorry for stating the obvious."

"Obvious?"

Tyra got a little bit more serious, "Come on, Sascha. I was in love with you, back in the day. Do you think I can't see the same signs? The way you look at each other? The way that you laugh with each other? The way you are both just a little happier when you are together?" She shrugged, "It's love. Always has been. Probably from the first day you met. It also explains why I was so jealous of Nara."

Sascha didn't know how to respond. Was Tyra right? Was he in love with Nara? He certainly had strong feelings for her. She was one of his closest friends, someone who he always felt comfortable around. But had his feelings gone that far?

"There's an amazing look on your face right now, Sascha. I wish I could show it to you."

He cracked a smile, "Can you like stop mocking me for half a second."

"No."

He rolled his eyes. "What do I do, Tyra?" he asked.

Tyra smiled and rolled her eyes in a mocking fashion, "Just don't do what we did." The mirth in Tyra's expression faded, "Look, Sascha. You know how it is. There is no such thing as having a girlfriend in the Jedi Order. You have to be a Jedi first, and there are no exceptions. That's why we don't have attachments. But...you and Nara _work_ as a pair...as a couple _._ I'm not the only person that has seen the way you two act together...if people were worried, they'd split you up. But they keep you together. It must be for a reason."

"Maybe they don't see what you see," he replied.

"Sascha. Trust me," said Tyra. "Look. I talked with Nara a while ago. She admitted that she loved you. Maybe not romantically, but she knew her feelings for you then then. And to be honest...it shouldn't take much for some physical attraction to form either. I've seen her sneaking glances at you...and I've seen you sneaking glances at her. I'm pretty sure the attraction is mutual. This is all a bit," Tyra made a hand gesture, "predictable."

Sascha was a bit rocked by this whole conversation. "But what do I do?"

Tyra's mouth twitched into a smile, "Listen, Sascha. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life. But, speaking for me, I do think that you and Nara could be 'together' and not have any trouble with it. But, ultimately, it will be decided will be between you, Nara and your Masters. As long as you remember that you are a Jedi first...and you rarely have...I don't see the big deal."

"And you are okay with this? Me and Nara?"

Tyra placed her hands lightly on his shoulders and looked into his eyes, "Yes. Nara and I had our spat, but now we are friends. And I can see that she's great for you...and you are great for her. I consider myself to be totally for this pairing...though maybe its best left to discuss after this mission."

Sascha rubbed his head as Tyra removed her hands "I agree with that last part a least."

Tyra laughed, "Be honest with your emotions. You know how you feel about Nara."

Sascha, grudgingly, had to admit that Tyra was right, as usual. "Okay, Tyra, I got to go, okay?"

"Oh, before I forget," said Tyra, "We think something strange might go down at the wilderness retreat today. Stay on guard, okay?"

"You give me the best news, Tyra," he joked.

Tyra shrugged, "It's not like what I get to do is any fun either." Tyra punched his arm, "Stay safe, doofus."

"You too, best friend," he replied.

Tyra shot him a smile before heading away from him.

* * *

It hadn't been too difficult for Delx Greevenson to identify the family that would consider themselves to be the most anti- Dooku family on Serenno. What was harder was actually getting a meeting with this family. They couldn't just say 'We are two Jedi, we'd like to meet with you.' Subtlety was required. And a bit of deception. Those were not the domains of Aurine Brynar. Fortunately her partner was much more adept in those areas.

The Adenventar family had been a prominent family in the politics of Serenno for a millennia. Dabbling in starship building, technology and weapons, the Adeventar's had been one of the families that had influenced most major events on planet and on several planets in Serenno's influence. With Dooku now back in the fold though, the Adeventar's had mysteriously found their grip on Serenno weakening. First, a mysterious fire had destroyed a major manufacturing plant owned by the Adeventar's, then the families' holding on Gelart V had a downturn in production and suddenly the wealthy and powerful family wasn't quite as rich and powerful as before. Of course, there was no evidence to implicate Dooku in any of this. But Delx's intrepid reporting had discovered that Dooku had leant the Adeventar's a huge amount of credits to keep their businesses afloat during this rocky time. It seemed to most that Dooku had created the opportunity and then taken advantage of it.

If only there was actual proof.

However, the situation in the Adeventar family had created an opening for her and Tiplee meet with them. All they had to do was pose as wealthy investors looking to invest in the factories owned by the Adeventar's. The family was credit poor, and they needed to find outside investment.

Which meant that Aurine and Tiplee had to pretend to be rich. Which was something that they were not exactly adept at. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Yet, by some amazing fluke, she and Tiplee had managed to convince Hadrian Adenventar, one of the younger members of the Adenventar family of their credentials as rich investors. They now had a meeting with Hadrian at the company's main offices on the planet.

On the speeder ride to that meeting, Aurine pulled at her clothing. She was wearing a richly embroidered emerald dress along with emerald earrings. Tiplee was similarly dressed to impressed, wearing a professional looking blazer and long pants. The outfit looked good on the Rishati. "You should wear that more often," she joked.

"I feel like an imposter," she complained.

"How do you think I feel?"

"Like an imposter in a pretty dress," Tiplee replied drolly.

Aurine rolled her eyes. "We are almost here, at least. Remember, we pretend to be scouting the the factory as a potential investment and then when we get Hadrian alone, we reveal the truth."

"You don't need to repeat my plan back to me you know," said Tiplee.

"Someone is in a bad mood," she observed.

The Rishati winced, "It's this mission. It's putting me on edge. So many things can go wrong. It's amazing that nothing catastrophically bad has happened yet. And yet I fear that it will."

"We have the easy part of this mission, but lets make sure we do it right, okay?"

Tiplee smiled, "I don't need a pep talk, Aurine. Though it is appreciated, my friend."

"Good, because we are here."

The two Jedi got out of their speeder at the headquarters for Adenventar Manufacturing, a nondescript building in one of the downtown sections of Veht city. Once inside they were greeted by a protocol droid and led straight to a rather impressive conference room. The only thing Aurine noticed was that they didn't have a whole lot of privacy, as their conference room had glass walls which could be seen through. There wasn't a lot of foot traffic, but still, it made her uncomfortable.

The two of them took their seats and waited for Hadrian Adenventar to appear. Hadrian, who was in his forties, was considered to be a strong businessman, who had the ear of the leadership of the head of his family, his father Guentis Adenventar.

"He's making us wait," said Tiplee, tapping her nails against the beautiful wooden table that they had been placed at. "It's a power move, to impress on us that he is busy enough to ignore even wealthy investors."

"I'm not impressed," she replied.

"Neither am I."

Five minutes later, Hadrian Adeventar finally made his entrance. As he entered the room, he was still dictating notes to a protocol droid. Finally, when he was done, he made eye contact with the two of them.

Hadrian was about forty years old and looked it. He dressed in nice clothes but he wore them with enough contempt that he did not look good in them. Neither was Hadrian a particularly attractive man. With a beard that suggested that it came about more due to laziness than to any particular affection for the style, Hadrian looked like a nicely dressed homeless person. Not quite the impressive person Aurine had been expecting.

Regardless of that thought, she was going to be professional. She stood and walked over to Hadrian and offered him her hand, "Mister Adeventar, a pleasure to meet you."

Hadrian took her hand in a firm handshake, "Aurine, nice to meet you." A glint appeared in Hadrian's eye, "What can I do for the Jedi Order."

Aurine froze, and for a moment she contemplated going for her lightsaber. She overcame that impulse, but continued to grip Hadrian's hand firmly. What should they do now?

"We need your help," said Tiplee.

Aurine gave Hadrian a last warning glare before releasing his hand. "Are we free to talk here?"

Hadrian nodded, "This is one of the few places in the building where we can talk freely. Everyone on my staff believes I'm talking to potential investors. We will not be disturbed."

Aurine gestured to the glass windows where she could see a couple people walking past, "Isn't there anywhere more private where we can talk?"

"There is," allowed Hadrian. "But then my staff will wonder why I'm breaking protocol for these two investors. That would invite...unwanted questions, I would think. Your cover story was...not good. It came apart under medium scrutiny."

Aurine glanced helplessly over at Tiplee. The Rishati shrugged imperceptibly as if to say, 'what choice do we have.'

"Come, sit, and we shall talk," said Hadrian. "I think we have much to discuss."

Warily, Aurine and Tiplee retook their seats. Hadrian sat across from them.

"How did you know we were Jedi?" she asked.

"I asked Delx," Hadrian said. "For the right price, he provided the information." Hadrian smiled slightly, "He protected your identity quite well, but every man has his price."

Aurine made a mental note to not trust so easily.

"So, you know our identities," said Tiplee. "Yet you agreed to meet us. Why?"

"There's only one reason that four Jedi could have suddenly taken interest in Serenno, which I may add, remains outside of the Republic. The one, the only, Count Dooku."

Aurine shared another quick glance with Tiplee. How honest did they want to be with Hadrian here?

Tiplee chose to respond, "We are interested in knowing what Dooku is doing. Not _interfering_ with what he is doing, but knowing."

Hadrian looked away, "And yet you should be interfering."

"We cannot," said Tiplee, folding her hands in front of her. "We have no jurisdiction here."

"And don't you think Dooku knows that?" retorted Hadrian. "He's untouchable here. He has powers that few of us can comprehend and none of us can stop. Did anyone at the Jedi Order realize that they were unleashing a menace on us?"

"A menace?" asked Aurine.

Hadrian openly gaped at the two Jedi. "Do you not understand what is going on?"

"We have some idea," Aurine allowed. She wanted Hadrian to reveal all that he knew. If that meant playing ignorant...so be it.

"I understand now why Dooku was banished from the Jedi Order. This is a man set on domination. Of subjugating those that do not see the galaxy the way he does." Hadrian leaned back. "We have tried to resist him, but the wiser move is to submit to what he wants and play the long game. Dooku is old. He has no heirs. The families of Serenno will play the long game, like we always have. I just don't know what Dooku will do the galaxy in the meantime."

That was...a scary if somewhat hyperbolic statement from Hadrian.

"Can you explain to us what Dooku is doing?" asked Tiplee calmly. "We've seen rumours, heard reports, but there is nothing substantiated, nothing we could report on."

Hadrian smiled ruefully, "I don't have substantial evidence. All I have is rumour, innuendo and suspicion. Dooku is too good to get caught."

"Can we get a few specifics," she asked. It was all good for Hadrian to wax poetic about Dooku, but she needed some actual details.

"Sorry. Yes." Hadrian ran his hand through his disheveled hair. "We have a factory on Gelart V. It's nothing too fancy, but its been a profitable factory for years. We sell the products to three main companies, I won't bore you with the details. Then a shadow company bought out the three main companies that we work with, one after another. We thought 'no big deal' just a business deal. Then they stopped buying from us. Within three months we were hemorrhaging credits. There was just no other company that wanted our products in the quantities we were making. We started looking around at selling our company. No buyers, even though we were offering at a cut rate price. Three more months go by. Finally, Dooku saunters over to us and makes us an offer. It's below the even low price we were offering...but we needed to accept. So we did. The next day, the other three companies that had been bought out started dealing with Dooku and his new factory. It seems obvious to anyone with a brain that Dooku orchestrated the whole thing."

"So in one fell swoop, he strengthens himself and weakens you," observed Tiplee.

Hadrian pointed at the Rishati, "Exactly. Now, there's nothing to link Dooku to the three companies that got bought out. In fact, its impossible to trace who owns them. But logic dictates that it must have been him."

Aurine had to grudgingly admit that the series of events made sense. And it jived with what she had learned from Delx. She leaned forward, "So what's Dooku's endgame?"

Hadrian vacillated for a moment before answering, "I think he's building a movement. A political movement. A Jedi like Dooku..."

"Former Jedi," she corrected.

"...former Jedi like Dooku has no interest in worldly possessions. He maintains the one residence owned by his family for generations, and yet sells off the others. So why acquire wealth?" Hadrian shrugged, "To buy influence. That's why he is making speeches, and attending the Youth Summit, even though he is most certainly _not_ a youth. He's setting out a framework for a new organization."

"What kind of organization?"

"There's a great deal of discontent in the outer rim with the Republic. Things are falling apart out here. Planets call for the Judicials or the Jedi and they never come. What Dooku has promised is a new sort of order a new sort of democracy. It's a movement in its infancy, but I believe it's there. The Outer Rim is not the core. There's never been a lot of love for the Republic. Right now, there is even less."

Tiplee looked increasingly concerned, and was tapping her foot rhythmically in irritation, "How do you know this?"

Hadrian gave the Jedi a wounded look, "The Adeventar family knows how to hedge its bets. We saw what happened when we voiced our displeasure with Dooku. Now we assist him when he asks."

"You're helping him?" said Aurine. "After what he did?"

Hadrian shrugged, "It was not my decision. But we are not happy with allying with Dooku, hence why this meeting will be secret."

"You'd sell yourselves to the highest bidder," Aurine said, disgusted.

Hadrian met her steely gaze, "It is simply the long-term view. The Adeventar family always plays the long-term game."

Aurine leaned back in her chair and tried to get the tension in her body to disperse. "What's Dooku's total goal?"

"If I had to guess...he wants to destroy the Republic and the Jedi. Or that might be what he says he wants." Hadrian smiled, "Maybe he's just like every other man, and he just wants power. Dooku plays his cards very close to his chest. He has very few allies. Though we've seen a young woman who appears to be from Dathomir that keeps appearing by his side. We think she may be some sort of enforcer."

"Dooku doesn't need an enforcer," Tiplee said bluntly. "She might run errands for him, I suppose. Might be someone worth trying to track down."

To Aurine, the idea of Dooku taking up with someone from Dathomir, screamed 'Dathomiri witch.' Why Dooku would be cavorting with a Dathomirian witch was beyond Aurine's knowledge.

"Anything else you have for us?"

Hadrian considered for a moment, "I think that about covers it. He's a dangerous man, Dooku." Hadrian folded his hands together, "But do not look to us for help. This was the limit of our opposition to Dooku."

Wonderful.

The two Jedi stood and bowed slightly to Hadrian, "We thank you for your time and for the information. Should your opinion change..."

"We will use Delx as an intermediary," said Hadrian who rose to lead them to the door. "Good luck, Jedi. We wish you the best of luck."

Aurine and Tiplee walked through the door, "For a family worth as much as they are, you'd figure they might give us more than luck," she grumbled quietly.

However, now, more than ever, it was important that Tyra got some sort of definitive proof of Dooku's actions. It seemed like the only way they could decode what Dooku was doing.


	29. Chapter 29: Into the Wild

**LordDarthYoda** \- It's Ventress. It might not be completely faithful to the storyline, I'm just interpreting that Dooku has trained her for a while, which makes sense as she's able to go up against Anakin and...not die, so she needs to have some pretty advanced training. Your speculation is good, as usual :).

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- I love Ventress, so I just needed the _slightest_ excuse to bring her into the story. She'll have a role to play in the rest of this one. I think Ventress isn't quite that strong at this point. I think she could handle any of the Padawans, if she wanted to. And if Dooku gets involved...kiss everyone goodbye!

A/N - Nothing from me!

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Into the Wild**

The Wilderness Retreat at the Youth Summit was an event that had endured throughout the Summit's many long years of existence, despite the numerous different planets that the retreat had been on over the years. The point of it was to take these future leaders, who may or may not have seen much of life outside the city and give them time to explore the unique environments of the world they were on. And hopefully to give them an appreciation for what other planets and their ecosystems are like.

Herding a thousand or more young men and women milling around a single area would constitute a bit of logistics nightmare, so the attendees had been broken into smaller groups of about thirty and dispatched to various spots across Serenno. Each group was led by a local guide, who showed off the local flora and fauna and generally educated the young leaders about Serenno.

Though Serenno was mostly an urban, industrialized planet, it had a nice smattering of forests, rain forests, mountain ranges and rivers to explore. As Sascha was more partial to forests, he had chosen to follow a group that was exploring the Drayden forest, located not far from where he and Nara were staying. It was springtime in this section of the planet and you could tell, bright flowers searched for sunlight for which to thrive. Green leaves from big, mature trees, created a high canopy that nearly blocked out the sun. All around him, he sensed the small critters of the forest, bouncing from tree to tree, avoiding the group of young men and women, but content to go about their tasks.

Sascha, though he was physically walking along at the back of the pack, was mentally somewhere else. He was still sorting through that conversation he'd had with Tyra. Everything she had said had made sense...but he still didn't feel _right_. Not yet.

It kind of felt good that he had no real idea where Nara was and no real desire to find out. He wasn't necessarily afraid of his feelings for Nara, but he was very, very cognizant of attachment. Once he started worrying where Nara was at all times, he was sunk. Fundamentally...he didn't really feel like he would be susceptible to that sort of attachment. He was experienced enough to know that he could simply not be by Nara's side at all hours of the day. She certainly didn't need his protection either.

Sascha allowed himself a little smile. Things could be worse. It was a nice day, there was a nice, cool breeze and reasonably decent company. He was just going to enjoy himself today. The galaxy could wait for a few hours.

* * *

Nara Nalto was less than thrilled at how her day was going. It wasn't just the current...whatever...that was going on with Sascha. It was that wherever she went, she couldn't escape her current least favourite person in the world, Count Dooku.

Nara had chosen to go along with a group of young leaders to one of the more thickly forested sections of the Drayden forest, as that was the sort of environment that she, as a Togruta, enjoyed. She and about twenty other young people had piled into a hoverbus and were just waiting for the okay to lift off and go, when the tall, lanky form of Count Dooku appeared, smiling like he was a politician at a fundraising event.

"May I join you?" asked Dooku.

The only person not to answer in the affirmative was Nara Nalto.

Dooku took a seat in the hoverbus towards the back and near to where she was. Nara recoiled as he walked by. If it wouldn't have been a huge break in protocol, she would have simply walked out of the bus and found a better group to be a part of.

Unfortunately, a Jedi showing up Count Dooku was probably a bad idea. So she would grin and bear it, and look for the first opportunity to get away from the odious Dooku.

Fortunately for her, Dooku seemed more interested in holding a conversation with the people around him, at least for the duration of the ride to the forest. Of course, because things couldn't possibly go the _slightest_ bit good on this mission, once everyone was out of the hoverbus, Dooku immediately came over to stand beside her as they walked through the forest.

"I couldn't help but notice that you did not participate in the conversation," Dooku said mildly.

"I've learned that sometimes, listening is as important as talking," she replied, matching his tone. She was darn sure that she wouldn't win a battle of wits with Dooku...but she could get her hits in too.

Dooku seemed amused by her barb, folding his hands behind his back and smiling genially, "Yes, that is only too right, I suppose."

"You suppose?"

"There is also a time for leadership and action," Dooku suggested, as if he was ordering desert of a menu. "Perhaps the Jedi should show more of those."

Nara forced herself to shrug, "If only there was Jedi willing to show leadership still in the Jedi Order. Maybe an older, respected, Jedi Master? Can't think of anyone that fits that description off hand."

Point made, Nara strode off confidently, heading to the front of the group and away from Dooku

It took Dooku nearly twenty minutes to approach her again, minutes which she very much enjoyed indulging her hunter's instincts. There were many creatures in this forest, many of which would have been delightful snacks, if she had been in the mood for hunting. Being a predator and a Jedi was something of an odd experience. While her nature told her that she was in a good place to go hunting, her instincts as a Jedi told her to preserve life. In Nara's opinion, if she was starving or in need of nourishment, she would have had no problem going hunting. Anything short of that though...

Still, it would have been fun to go hunting, even if just to catch and release whatever she caught. She didn't really have a pack though and Togruta weren't really individual hunters...

"Togruta are home in places like this, aren't they, Padawan Nalto?"

Dooku. Couldn't he just leave her alone? Why was he antagonizing her? It didn't make sense. Maybe he just wanted company. He did live alone after all.

"I do like this forest," she admitted.

"It's a forest without any major predators," observed Dooku, not incorrectly. "That is a strange thing for a forest, is it not?"

"It is," Nara said, not sure where Dooku was going with this.

"There should be a natural order of things," Dooku said. "When there is not a natural order, or it is in flux, confusion can occur."

"Ah, this is a metaphor about the Jedi, is it not?"

"You are indeed a sharp one," chuckled Dooku.

Nara sighed out loud.

"Allow me to explain," Dooku said, ignoring her obvious exasperation. "The Jedi, for thousands of years, operated with the Republic as partners. Many times a Jedi Master was Chancellor of the Republic itself. The two Organizations worked in lock step. And things were harmonious."

"I seem to recall about a hundred different conflicts with the Sith during that era," Nara said dryly. "Harmonious it was not."

"Maybe externally," said Dooku, visibly annoyed as the remainder of the group gathered around them. "But internally, do you remember hearing of corruption in the Senate? Of deadlock? Of malaise."

Probably something to do with the wars against the Sith that threatened to bring the whole system down, Nara suspected. Having a common enemy was a good way to motivate people. Or perhaps historians weren't that interested in writing about political corruption when there was about a hundred thousand battles to write about. Unfortunately, neither of those seemed like convincing arguments.

"I am not a historian," Nara admitted.

"So you think the problem is that the Jedi are too detached?" a young man asked Dooku.

"I think they've abandoned the principals that served the Republic well for thousands of years," said Dooku, holding court as the group progressed deeper into the forest. "They believe that they should be loyal to the Force. I believe that they should be loyal to the people."

Such a load of Bantha dung, "But people are fickle," said Nara. "And people disagree. Should we take a popular vote on our actions? Or should we be like the police? Subservient to the politicians?" Nara stood in the middle of the circle and found a log to stand on. "The Jedi chose to step away from taking leadership positions in the Republic because the Republic would never be a representative democracy if you had to be a Jedi to be Chancellor."

Nara waved a hand angrily in Dooku's direction, "All I've heard from our former Jedi Master this week is how flawed the Jedi have become, how weak the Republic is. But at least the Jedi are supporting the Republic and its people. What are _you_ doing, Master Dooku? You lob criticisms and say that things should be better, but you _don't do anything yourself_. You have wealth at your control that could make the lives of billions better. But you don't do it! So who is worse; someone who does something, or someone who does nothing!"

Too late, Nara realized that she was getting emotional and that the young leaders of the the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit were staring at her in discomfort. She had gone too far.

"I see," said Dooku as he moved to stand directly in front of her. Despite the fact she was standing on a log, Dooku still overtopped her slightly. "Well, finally we see honesty from a Jedi. I wonder how many more _controversial_ opinions are being held by those within the Jedi Temple."

Oh _Force_ , he's going to use this against the entire Jedi Order, isn't he. Drat.

"My opinions are my own," Nara replied weakly.

Dooku smiled like a Lothcat that had found its prey. "I understand that you just speak for yourself. But I find that this attitude is only too prevalent in the Jedi Order. Only inward looking, and ignorant of their own history."

Nara clenched her fists, turned and stalked away, pushing her out of the circle that had formed. Nara didn't care that it looked bad. She was losing her temper and didn't care to do it in front of Dooku and a bunch of strangers.

Once she had gone far enough and she had made sure that no one else had followed her, she bent down, picked up a rock and then threw it as hard as she could into the distance. She would have screamed if it wouldn't have been overheard. Instead she kicked her booted foot into a nearby tree stump. Predictably, her foot now hurt.

She bounced up and down for a bit on her good foot until the pain faded. Truly and utterly annoyed beyond all reason, Nara tried a Jedi breathing technique to calm herself down. What was it about Dooku that annoyed her? Sure, there was the arrogance, but she had been around people more arrogant than Dooku. Not many, mind you, but enough. But she usually had patience to spare. She had been trained by Tiplee, one of the calmest Jedi that she knew. She knew how to act. So why had she had such a short fuse today?

"It's because of Sascha," Nara growled to herself.

It had been Dooku that had suggested that she might have feelings for Sascha. So, perhaps instead of addressing the underlying emotions between her and Sascha, which so clearly existed, she had shunted all her emotion towards Dooku.

Damn.

It was all so obvious in retrospect.

She resisted the urge to kick the tree stump again. So, instead she slapped herself on the cheek, "You are an idiot, Nara Nalto."

She smacked herself again, this time lightly on the head. The first thing to do was to somehow make amends with the rest of the group, and try to make herself look like less like a barely restrained psychopath. Which she may or may not be able to do in the time left. All she could do was try.

Nara opened herself up to the Force, so that she could more easily find her way back to the group. She found the group easily enough, but there was something strange, something dangerous in the Force. A feeling of impending danger.

Nara turned and sprinted back to her group, slipping her lightsaber into her hand.

* * *

Sascha Whitestar was involved in a lively, but friendly debate with a Gran and a Twi'lek about how the Jedi Order could be more open with the public. Both young men were being open about what they thought about the Jedi.

"The Jedi need to be a little more approachable, like you are right now, Jedi Whitestar," said the Green-skinned Twi'lek. "I had one opinion of the Jedi before I came here, and now that has changed. I couldn't have gotten my opinion changed if I haven't met a Jedi and gotten to talk to them."

"But as the Jedi said, the Jedi cannot be everywhere, and they cannot show favouritism," said the Gran.

The Twi'lek wavered, "I know. But there must be some sort of middle ground."

"You should just train more Jedi," the Gran said, smiling. "That way you wouldn't be spread so thin across the Republic."

"I think we should," said Sascha. "I think we've become a bit restrictive on who we train." He smiled, "Of course, I have absolutely no power in this matter."

"I understand, Master Jedi."

Sascha's comlink rang, "Sorry, I have to take this."

"Jedi business?"

"Probably someone with a wrong number," he joked.

Sascha took a few steps away from the group and answered his comlink without looking at who was calling, "Hello?"

"Sascha! It's Nara. Our party is under attack by droids! Come quick!"

He almost asked where she was, but upon glimpsing into the Force, she could tell that she wasn't all that far away from him. Sick coincidence.

"I'm coming," he said, and hung up.

Sascha went to the tour guide, an amiable young man named Cartis. "Cartis, you need to take this group and go back to the staging area. Do it quickly and calmly. Can you do this for me?"

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, but it's not good. Can you take care of these people for me?"

Cartis hesitated and then nodded, "I can do it."

"Good, I'm trusting you," he said.

With no time to spare, Sascha dropped into the Force, trying to determine the direction that he needed to go. When he did, he started sprinting in that direction, being careful of his footing in the treacherous forest.

He almost twisted his ankle a couple of times, when the elevation of the forest suddenly changed on him, but with his quick reactions and strong balance, he was able to prevent himself from injuring himself on the way to battle.

When he arrived, minutes later, there was still a firefight going on. Nara, with her lightsaber ablaze, was standing in front of a terrified group of beings, all of which were huddled close to Nara. There was one really tall person behind Nara that seemed to be moving more than the others...

Dooku?

What the hell?

The Force was swirling around the two Jedi...well one Jedi Padawan and one former Jedi Master. Nara was taking up the defensive responsibility, keeping up a quick moving lightsaber. Dooku was using the Force to send the droids, which looked like ordinary battle droids that had been painted in the colours of the forest.

Instead of jumping to Nara's aid, Sascha stopped and thought for a second. Battle droids needed something to control them. It probably meant that there had to be _someone_ in the near vicinity that was in control of the droids.

Sascha stopped and extended his senses, looking for someone nearby. He found one such presence in the Force that was somewhere off to his left. He decided that he would o and have a visit with this person. At the very least, he could draw the attention away from Nara.

Sascha traded speed for stealth as he snuck up on the mysterious person. A few moments later, he found her. Perched on a strong lower branch of an old tree, he saw a young woman, dressed in a red and black jumpsuit with a long flowing skirt. Her hair was a shock of platinum blonde. She had a blaster at her side and in her hands was a small, gray device that looked like it might be responsible for controlling the battle droids.

"Put down the controller," he said, projecting his voice in the Force to carry extra weight.

Instead of startling, like Sascha expected that this...attacker, should have. She simply turned and said,"Oh I don't think I will," said a strong, sultry voice.

Slightly unnerved, Sascha tried one last attempt at diplomacy, "I am a Jedi. I am asking you to surrender peacefully."

The woman rolled her eyes, "But that would be so... _boring._ "

Well. He tried diplomacy. It hadn't worked.

Sascha ignited his lightsaber and threw it so that it would cut down the branch that the woman was perched on. While it would leave him defenseless, he didn't think that this woman would be able to draw and fire her blaster at him before his lightsaber cut through the tree branch.

He almost miscalculated.

Showing incredible speed and reflexes, the whip-thin blond woman was able to leap off the branch she had been perched on, withdraw her blaster and fire it at him, all in one very smooth motion. Fortunately, she was not good enough to actually hit him with her fire, but she _was_ accurate enough to keep him pinned down and unable to move.

Sascha recovered his lightsaber and held it across his body. The woman, smartly decided against firing at him. She held the blaster and had it pointed at him, but she seemed to realize that it was pointless to actually fire at a Jedi that was focused on them.

"Surrender," he said.

"I could call my droids back, you know," the woman said casually. "Then we could really make it fun."

Sascha took a couple of slow steps towards his assailant, "I'd enjoy that."

"Sorry hun, you aren't my type."

Sascha decided that he wasn't going to bandy words with this woman any longer. He charged directly at her. The woman fired a couple of times with her blaster. The shots pinged off his lightsaber as he easily deflected it. Sascha decided that a quick lightsaber move to disarm this woman seemed like a good way to deal with things.

But then the woman bent her knees and jumped high into the air, far over his head, landing like a Lothcat on a branch that was probably five or six meters in the air.

Did...she just...use the Force? That jump should have been impossible for an average human. In fact it would have been a difficult jump for most Jedi.

Sascha looked warily at the attacker, keeping his lightsaber in a defensive position, "Who are you?"

"You can call me Ventress."

"You use the Force."

The woman shrugged lazily, projecting indifference, "It's not like the Jedi have a monopoly on using the Force...though I'm sure they'd like if they did."

Sascha said nothing.

"Look, this is a stalemate. You can't get to me without me riddling you full of blaster bolts. And I bet you could just block my shots all day." Ventress waved her hand, "This is all a bit...boring now."

"I'm going to bring you in. You have nowhere to go," he said.

Ventress snorted, "Delusional Jedi child." The pale woman flicked a tiny salute towards him before hopping off her branch and escaping deeper into the forest. Sascha toyed with the idea of following her for a moment, before deciding that his main concern was to get back to Nara. But still...so many questions remained. What in the hell was that? Who the heck was she? And why did she seem to be Force sensitive?

Whatever the answers were, he had no time to determine them right now.

He jogged back to where Nara and Dooku were finishing off the last of the battledroids. Without the oversight of Ventress, the battle droids were...well...pretty dumb. Up against a Padawan and a Jedi Master like Dooku, they had no chance of success.

Pieces of droids were littered everywhere. Nara was sweating and breathing hard, looking like she had just gone twelve rounds of sparring with someone who was better than her. A small cut just underneath her left eye was the only obvious injury she had.

Dooku on the other hand, looked completely unscathed.

Sascha disengaged his lightsaber.

"Everyone okay?" he shouted.

Nods and mild confirmations answered him.

Nara managed a little smile, "Thank the Force these were just dumb battle droids," she said. "I think everyone is fine."

"I'm okay too," Dooku replied dryly as Sascha passed by him.

Sascha shot Dooku a look before looking at the rest of the group, "Everyone else okay?" Sascha asked the shaken up group of young people.

No one raised a hand or said anything, so Sascha assumed that everyone had come through unscathed.

Two questions remained. Who was that woman, and why had she attacked this group?

He stood beside Nara, "You okay, Nara?"

Nara shot him a little smile, "It's always better when you are here, Whitestar."


	30. Chapter 30: Sneaking

**LordDarthYoda** \- Hah, I don't think Assaj is flirting with Sascha, more like playing with (or toying with.) I think Dooku will be a bit more casual than just trying to say a Jedi tried to kill him (also there are several witnesses with Dooku, so his lying can't be too egregious. He has a way of turning it to his advantage though :).

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- Ventress is in! Nara is hardheaded, and her annoyance with Dooku really pushed her into doing stupid things (notice how Dooku manipulates her...). I'm sure Padme would have probably attended at least one of these Summits. Just not this one ;). This story has enough characters going as it is!

A/N - Nothing from me!

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Sneaking**

Tyra Harker's day was not off to a good start. One of her Master's favourite things to do each morning was to read the news of whatever planet he was on. Usually this was just to gain context as to what the planet was going through, and a nice way to kick off the day.

Unfortunately, the main headlines on Serenno today were all about the 'assassination attempt' that had been made on Dooku and how he had heroically fended it off, protecting the group of young people that had been with him at the time. Worse still, were the comments from the people that had been there.

Teff stabbed a finger at his datapad and read aloud, "'Taxia Lang of Garvit III stated that 'We had a Jedi with us, but she and Dooku got into an argument and she stormed off. She wasn't here when we got attacked by those droids. Only Dooku was.'" Teff looked at the ceiling, "Somehow we have managed to make Dooku more popular," he groused.

"And lowered our own popularity at the same time," she agreed.

"This has been a very impressive mission, so far. Though it will all change tonight," he promised.

Tyra swallowed hard. Yes. Tonight. The night where Master Nal'ma would turn himself over to Dooku while she snuck into his estate and tried to steal information from one of the most powerful Jedi in existance. Judging by the way that Dooku had been one step ahead of them, Tyra did not have much confidence in what was going to happen tonight.

"You are having second thoughts," said Teff.

"Always, Master."

"What does the Force tell you about tonight?" he asked.

Tyra frowned, "I do not know. The Force is pretty good at never giving me a clear answer."

"Sometimes having no clear answer _is_ the answer."

Tyra made a face, "Can you just skip the fanciful, mystical explanation and get to the point where you explain your answer to me?"

Teff smiled enigmatically, "The Force is giving you the knowledge that you don't need to know what is going to happen tonight."

"That is a load of bantha dung, Master. No disrespect intended."

"A little bit of disrespect, I think," drawled Teff.

"No, Master, never disrespect to you," she said, bowing her head slightly to him. "I just sometimes don't like the answer that you give me. You know that I always want to know more."

"And someday the answers will be at your fingertips," Teff said. "But today is not that day, my apprentice. Today is the day where we discover what Dooku is doing."

"Or things go horribly wrong."

"All is as the Force wills it," said her Master.

Tyra nodded, but secretly, she hoped that the Force willed that she and Teff would have a good mission. Infiltrating Dooku's compound, which is what she had to do, was not exactly high on her list of favourite missions...and she hadn't even started yet. Plus the whole thing about her Master turning himself over to Dooku...

"You worry too much, apprentice," said her Master

"I worry about the day where I didn't worry enough," she retorted calmly.

Teff smiled confidently at her, "Today is not that day."

Tyra Harker certainly hoped not.

* * *

Tyra Harker, wearing the same clothes that she had been wearing the first time she had snuck into Dooku's estate. Tyra did not like wearing black, she felt it was unbecoming of a Jedi to wear such a dark colour. She also did not like not wearing her Jedi robe. She was wearing her usual shirt but she was wearing a black tunic and pants overtop of those.

She had split off from her Master about twenty minutes ago. The two of them had said their goodbyes a little more emotionally than usual. There was a chance that this would be the last time that the two of them would see each other. While the two of them weren't that close...Teff was still her Master and she cared about him as a mentor.

From afar, she had watched as Teff walked up to the front gate and turned herself in to the guards. The guards, who looked tough, but didn't seem amazingly competent, put him in stuncuffs and led him into the sprawling estate of Count Dooku. Interestingly enough, there was a slender woman that seemed to be bossing the guards around. Tyra hadn't seen or heard anything about her, but her poise suggested confidence and power. Interesting. Dooku could probably afford to have at least one vaguely competent person on his staff, she supposed.

Tyra filed that away that bit of information for potential later use.

It was a bit of a wait until night fell completely. Tyra passed it by meditating lightly, strengthening herself for the trials to come. When she felt that she was ready, she ended her meditation and waited to ensure that Tiplee had parked her speeder somewhere close by, should Tyra need to make a hasty retreat. After she made contact with Tiplee in the Force, she started making her way to the spot where she and her Master had infiltrated Dooku's estate the first time. Just as before, there was a small gap in security of the estate and she slipped inside with some acrobatic moves. There were, Tyra knew, very few places in the galaxy that could keep a Jedi out.

Tyra kept her senses alert before finding a door that seemed like it would lead somewhere promising. She opened it quietly, and waited for an alarm to sound. If an alarm was sent, it was silent. Tyra went inside.

What she needed to find was a datapad that she could steal or a terminal which she could hack into and download data onto a disk. Someone like Dooku was likely to be careful...but perhaps he would be complacent as well. The rich and powerful often were.

Tyra reached out with her senses to see if she could detect anyone in her near vicinity. No one was. Dooku was still at the Leadership Summit, and would be for at least another hour. After that...she would do well to make herself scarce.

It took Tyra some searching, and a couple of failed attempts, but eventually she found a computer terminal that seemed to be...unlocked.

"Jackpot," Tyra whispered quietly.

Unfortunately, her enthusiasm was short lived. This computer terminal was locked down in such a way that it would be impossible for her to download any information that she found onto a disk or datapad. Nor would she be able to send files to a secure location on the Holonet.

"Drat," Tyra said, kicking the desk that she was sitting at with her foot.

That left one option, manually searching through Dooku's millions and millions of files, hoping to find something incriminating, then...taking a picture of it on her datapad? Ugh. Tyra felt herself deflate. This was going to be impossible.

Then, she found her determination again. This was her mission. Her Master was counting on her. Master Yoda was counting on her. She would not fail.

She glimpsed into the Force again to see if anyone was nearby. There was no one even close to her vicinity, though she could detect her Master in the Force and Tiplee as well. All seemed to be going to plan.

Now she just needed to get to work.

* * *

Assaj Ventress didn't like being on babysitting duty. She liked the Jedi that was sitting across from her even less.

Assaj didn't mind being a tool of Count Dooku. Dooku was powerful and had promised to make her more than she was. Ventress believed him. Dooku had plans, Dooku was going to be someone who changed the galaxy. There were worse things in life than being a trusted confidant to a man such as him. And besides, Dooku was old...he might eventually leave everything to her...

This Twi'lek Jedi was annoying her though.

First he showed up at the front gate saying that he wanted to 'join' with Count Dooku. Assaj had no idea who 'Teff Nal'ma' was, but she sure as heck did not want a rival for Dooku's time and attention. And she certainly had no intention of sharing any more time than necessary with a Jedi...

"I can feel your anger," said the Twi'lek. Teff was handcuffed and had been placed in a secure room that was ray-shielded, meaning that there was no way for the Twi'lek to escape. Teff had clearly no intention of escaping, as he was sitting in a meditative position in the middle of the barren room, his eyes closed softly. Unfortunately he could annoy her with his words and he was doing a good job of it.

"You are very perceptive, Jedi."

"I am your ally, stranger," said Teff Nal'ma. "I do not know why you have such anger for me."

"It's because you are a Jedi," she said, giving him an answer that was both the truth and designed to get him to shut up.

"I've known Dooku for longer than you have," Teff continued. "We are very alike," he said.

"I doubt that," Ventress replied dryly.

"Doubt me if you must," he said. Thankfully, the Twi'lek seemed to enter a meditative state thereafter.

Her comlink rang, and she answered it, stepping away from Teff's room for a moment, "Yes, Count Dooku?"

"I understand that we have a guest," Dooku said.

"We do. A Jedi, says he knows you."

"Not well enough, evidently," said Dooku sarcastically. "He is adequately confined?"

"He is not going anywhere."

"Keep him there until I return. I will be home shortly."

Shortly turned out to be more like fourty-five minutes. But at least Assaj was not further annoyed by the idiot Twi'lek during that time. Teff Nal'ma opened his eyes as he sensed Count Dooku approaching. Dooku was dressed in a formal suit along with a fashionable cloak. He looked every part the aristocrat that he was. Dooku acknowledged her with a nod before turning his attention to the captured Jedi.

"Count Dooku."

"Master Nal'ma. A fine evening for a visit," Dooku said placidly. "What message does Mace WIndu have for me?"

"That he's as cold an unfeeling as he's ever been," Teff said confidently.

A slight smile appeared on Dooku's face, "I do not think those were his exact words."

"They weren't." Teff bounced out of his meditative position and stood, "I'm here to join you, Master Dooku, in whatever that you are doing." Teff turned his eyes towards her, "I see you are accepting recruits."

Dooku's eyes flicked to her for a second before meeting the Twi'lek's gaze, "And why should I accept you?"

"Because you know me," Teff said calmly. "You know my reputation. You know that we have talked in the past. And also because I have information you will want to hear."

"Really," said Dooku. "If you think I need another mole within the Jedi Order you are quite mistaken."

Teff seemed to lose confidence for the first time, "My information is more current."

Dooku stretched lazily, "And what information is that?"

"Your security is compromised."

Dooku smiled like a Lothcat, "By whom, exactly?"

"My apprentice."

"Please tell me she is not the annoying Togruta," said Dooku.

"She is not," said Teff. "Her name is Tyra Harker. And she is my pride and joy."

Ventress rolled her eyes.

"I see. It seems to be a bit of a contradiction," said Dooku. "You cite her as your biggest accomplishment in life, yet you let me know that she is currently invading my home."

Teff raised his chin, "I am telling you this as a sign of loyalty."

Dooku raised a hand to his chin. "Well, I suppose we cannot have someone snooping around." Dooku turned to face her, "Did you take his lightsaber?"

Ventress handed it to Dooku with a flick of her wrist.

Dooku analyzed it for a moment, "It is generally very stupid of a Jedi to give up their lightsaber to an enemy."

Teff smiled, "You are not my enemy."

Dooku smiled back. "Well, I suppose we should talk in private. Ventress, you can handle our unwanted guest, I assume?"

"A Jedi whelp? Please. You insult me."

Dooku tossed her Teff's lightsaber, "You might need this."

Ventress caught the lightsaber. It was cool in her hands, but she could feel the power that the cylinder contained. She caressed the smooth surface of the lightsaber for a moment. She was still hoping for the day when Dooku would let her build her own. But for now this would suffice.

"Please don't harm my Padawan," Teff said, a bead of sweat appearing on his green forehead. It looked like the Jedi actually cared for his Padawan. How trite.

"She will not be harmed…more than necessary. Right, Ventress?" asked Dooku.

"No more than _absolutely_ necessary," she repeated.

"The Padawan is probably near the main database computer," said Dooku.

"I will bring her to you," she purred.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

Tyra Harker was losing her patience and running out of time. She had found bits and pieces of things that she wanted to find, but nothing concrete on what Dooku was up to. She had found some of where Dooku had stashed his money, including, confusingly, places like Sluis Van, which was one of the Republic's staunchest planets. But beyond some simple things, Tyra had made no progress, despite searching for an hour.

She was about to give up when she found an interesting directory with what appeared to be Dooku's travel plans for the next few months. Tyra found the pattern at once. It was almost a directory of planets that were currently unhappy within the Republic and some of the most powerful planets that existed outside of its borders. Quickly, Tyra tried to find any more details. Was he meeting with local politicians? Was he giving speeches?

She was so enthralled in her search that she almost missed that she almost missed the person entering the room. She withdrew her lightsaber and whirled. Across from her, staring her with an amused expression was a young woman that looked not dissimilar from her. Of course, she didn't have shockingly blonde hair, or a face that was so pale that it seemed to be bloodless. And she _also_ did not have her Master's lightsaber.

As Tyra's mouth dropped open, the woman strutted towards her, "Caught snooping around. Not very Jedi like. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I prefer the hard way...but its not up to me today..."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Ventress. I work for our esteemed Count Dooku and as you invading his property, you will surrender."

Tyra ignited her lightsaber, "No thanks. First you will give me back my Master's lightsaber. Then you will get out of my way."

Ventress scoffed, "At least you have spirit, Padawan." Ventress ignited her Master's lightsaber, "Surrender and you will not be hurt."

Tyra didn't need to talk any more with this...whatever. She intended to get out of here, the tough talk about her Master's lightsaber, was just that...talk.

She swept in on the attack, looking to look like she was trying to fight, all the while all she wanted to do was get to the door. Tyra prodded a couple of times, noting that Ventress had pretty solid bladework as she parried. Then she took two steps towards the door...and was surprised to see Ventress dance and block her path adroitly.

"Going somewhere?" she asked.

"I have dinner reservations," she gritted out.

Tyra decided to stop playing around. Whoever this was, there was no way she could stand up to her in a duel. She went on the attack, blistering towards Ventress with one of her favourite patterns, attacking low and high, forcing Ventress backwards, but not putting on any significant pressure. This Ventress, Tyra was starting to realize, was very good.

"Dooku has trained you well," Tyra said grudgingly.

"I will take that as a compliment," said Ventress.

Then, Ventress attacked. Tyra dug in, keeping her defence strong. Not only was Ventress quick, but she was strong as well. Tyra was starting to feel like this wasn't going to be the easy victory she assumed. She decided that fleeing was the better option.

She deflected another attack and then used a Force push to give herself a little space from Ventress. Then she dashed for the exit.

She managed to get into the hallway, when Ventress replied, using a Force push, which sent her careening into the wall. Tyra dropped to a knee and then rose. She managed to avoid Ventress using the Force to fling a chair at her.

Tyra decided that a fighting retreat was looking more and more difficult by the moment. She steeled herself for a fight in the hallway.

Ventress casually strolled out of the room and into the same hallway, dropping into a fighting crouch, "Now we are having fun, aren't we?"

Tyra Harker was not.

Ventress charged. Tyra held her ground. The clash of lightsabers filled the hallway with their noise, the lighting from the lightsabers making shadows on the walls. Tyra was starting to realize that Ventress was actually toying with her in some regards. Instead of infuriating her, like it would have when she was younger, it fuelled her determination to do better.

Tyra avoided a wild slash and prepared to counter, but she didn't see Ventress' left leg lash out. Ventress' kick caught her low, right on her knee. Tyra's knee buckled and she just about got decapitated by Ventress' next attack. Tyra tried to put weight on her knee, and it nearly gave out. She was going to be fighting on one leg for a few moments.

"Surrender is still an option," purred Ventress.

"Who...or what are you?" she asked. Maybe if she could get Ventress to talk, she could get her knee a little more time to recover.

"My life story is not yours to know," said Ventress dangerously. "Now I have a task to do and it involves subduing you."

"Try me," Tyra snarled, trying to seem more dangerous than wounded.

Ventress saw right through the facade.

Fighting only on one leg meant that she could get no power behind her blows and Ventress took advantage of this, attacking from odd angles which forced Tyra to put pressure on her knee. Eventually, there was only so much pain she could overcome and she collapsed to one knee.

But Tyra wasn't done fighting, she summoned the Force and tried to use the Force to push Ventress back. Ventress was ready for this tactic this time, and she wasn't pushed back very far at all. Ventress came back at her as Tyra struggled to her feet. Her leg was pretty much useless now. Even the thought of making a break for the exit was now gone. All she could do was defeat this Ventress and then limp her way out of here.

Ventress brought the two lightsabers together in a bind, and pushed her weight towards here. With both lightsabers heading slowly towards her, she had to do something to change that. She went back down to one knee and now with the added strength of her position, she was able to resist the blades coming towards her.

Ventress though, was smart. She broke the bind, and then quickly drove her knee towards her. Tyra took the blow right on the chest and the wind almost immediately rushed out of her. She tried a couple of wild swipes with her lightsaber that were easily parried.

Then Tyra saw a punch from Ventress coming...and all she could do was take it clean on the chin. Dazed, Tyra tried to bring her lightsaber back to bear on Ventress, but her lightsaber was knocked out of her hand, and then another savage blow landed. Whether it was a kick or a punch, Tyra couldn't say, all she knew was that it hurt and that she was seeing stars.

"You are tough, Padawan," purred Ventress. "But I have been fighting my whole life. You never stood a chance."

Tyra, through watery eyes, threw a desperate punch towards a blurry Ventress. It missed by a mile.

Then Ventress hit her again, and things went dark.

Tyra faded in and out of consciousness for the next few minutes.

First she felt herself being dragged by Ventress. Then her eyes closed again. When she woke up for a second time, she could still feel herself being dragged along like a carcass from a hunt. When she woke up for a third time, she was in a dark room that reminded her of a jail cell. There was what might have been a small bed along the side of the room, but there wasn't much more furnature than that.

Damn it, thought Tyra. This was not part of the plan at all. She curled up on the floor the best she could, and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

Tiplee knew that Tyra was fighting, just by dropping into the Force. Who she was fighting was much more difficult to determine.

A younger Tiplee would have loved to have charged into battle to assist Tyra in her fight, but the older, wiser Tiplee, simply knew that her role was to await Tyra with the speeder.

However, it didn't make it easier to watch. The Jedi Knight really thought that this was going to be one of those missions that just went wrong. Unfortunately, that meant that the lives of Tyra and Teff were going to be in the balance.

When Tiplee sensed Tyra losing consciousness, she decided that it was time for her to make an exit. She turned on the speeder's engine and headed back to the city, not looking forward to reporting that both Teff and Tyra were in the hands of Count Dooku.

And Force only knew what he'd do with both of them.


	31. Chapter 31: Problems

**LordDarthYoda** \- It certainly looks like Teff sold them out. Has he though? Tyra certainly got the Sascha treatment in that last chapter...a welcome change! Tyra's certainly a much different character than she once was. Always looking for an exit...

 **SpeechBubbleme** \- Whoops, I knew that spelling looked wrong, but I eyeballed it and it _seemed_ right. This chapter coming up will not be an action chapter, but they'll be some coming up soon...

A/N - Short chapter this time, thanks to Canadian Thanksgiving.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Problems**

Sascha Whitestar woke up in the early hours of the morning in a cold sweat. He'd been having a series of strange nightmares that featured Tyra. None of his dreams had made anything resembling sense, and the only thing he remembered now was a sense of foreboding and pain coming from Tyra. While his connection with his childhood best friend was not as strong as it had been when he was younger, it was still very strong.

When Sascha got his senses back fully he opened himself up to the Force and searched for Tyra. He found her easily enough, but Tyra's presence was rather weak, which indicated that she had either been hurt, or she was asleep. Or maybe both.

The only unfortunate thing was...there was nothing he could do. He was aware of what Tyra had been doing yesterday, she had been trying to break into Dooku's estate and steal information. So, the logical conclusion was that Tyra's mission had gone wrong in some way that he couldn't even comprehend yet. The mere thought of Tyra in Dooku's hands was enough to make has stomach turn.

The hardest part of being a Jedi was the knowledge that you could do nothing. All he could do was play his part.

Sascha opened up his connection in the Force to Tyra. It was a weak connection, given the distance between them. But into that connection he poured all the confidence and reassurance that he could muster.

 _Hang on Tyra, we'll make this right. Whatever went wrong, we'll fix it._

* * *

Tyra Harker had a long unpleasant night. She had been fading in and out of sleep the whole night, as if her mind couldn't believe where she now was.

Tyra Harker was not a person of faith. It wasn't in her heart to believe in something beyond what she could sense. So she had no faith that she was going to be rescued, so she simply knew that it was up to her to get out of this predicament.

How she was going to manage to do that was currently beyond her understanding.

She hadn't seen anyone since that Ventress had attacked her last night, and she was still beating herself up over how she had let someone sneak up on her. She should have been paying more attention. Now she was in a situation that she had not planned to be in, a captive of Dooku after breaking into his house. It seemed unlikely that Dooku would just let her go...and there was no way that she was going to escape, not from a ray-shielded room and with a bum knee.

Tyra stretched out her leg. Her knee was really _borked_. Maybe she had torn an ACL or an MCL during the fight, but that meant that she was going to have limited mobility for awhile. Tyra gritted her teeth as she pulled up her pants, just rolling the fabric over her knee. Her knee looked a bit swollen, but otherwise looked normal. The problem when she tried to put weight on it, it would just about collapse under her.

Tyra heard footsteps in the distance and quickly rolled her pant leg back down. She remained seated on the floor though, because there was nowhere for her to sit, not even a chair.

After a few moments, Dooku appeared. He was dressed in a long dark robe and looked particularly foreboding. Her lightsaber was clasped to his hip and it pained Tyra dearly to see it there.

"Usually you stand and bow to your elders," said Dooku.

Tyra was usually defiant, and she would usually just say nothing. Today, her defiance was gone. "I'm not sure I can stand," Tyra said sadly. "Your...apprentice really messed up my knee."

"I will send you a medical droid after we are done here."

"Thank you," she said.

Dooku smiled, "A polite young Padawan now. I think you were much different last night. Let us not beat around the bush, you were caught sneaking around my property yesterday. You are now a common thief. What do you have to say for yourself."

Tyra looked at the floor, "I was only doing as I was told."

"Your Master told you to spy on me?"

"He was supposed to be distracting you," Tyra said, deliberately shading the truth, slightly.

"I see," said Dooku. "What specifically did he tell you to do?"

"He told me to find out whatever I could about you and what your intentions are. Where your money is going, who you are making connections with."

Dooku chortled lightly, "Yoda and Mace Windu must really be desperate if they are sending 4th rate Jedi Knights and 8th rate Padawans after me."

Tyra said nothing.

"Silence is probably what Yoda would tell you to do at the moment. It will not serve you here," said Dooku. "I control your fate, and I want answers. Should you answer the questions I give you honestly, I may find it in my heart to just release you."

Tyra found a little courage, "If I thought you were capable of honesty, I might give you the answers you want. You have a choice, Dooku. A Jedi would turn me over to the proper authorities. A cruel man would keep me here in this cell and let me rot. Your choice." Tyra shrugged, "Though, you know that my Master knows where I am. I don't think the Jedi will just let you hold me captive here forever."

Dooku seemed unperturbed by her threat, "I will make the decisions here, young one."

Tyra nodded. Trying to manipulate Dooku was probably a waste of time. It had been worth a try, however.

"I will ask one question for now, Padawan Harker. Where is your Master?"

"Probably figuring out a way to get me out of here," she said. "We had a room rented nearby. If you want the address...good luck."

"Loyalty to your Master is a fine trait," said Dooku. "Misguided but fine."

Tyra didn't rise to the bait.

Dooku gave her another once over before shrugging imperceptibly, "Not much of a conversationalist, I suppose. Well, we will have plenty more time to chat later. I will send the medical droid to you. Don't try to escape or Ventress will be upset with you."

"Well we wouldn't want that," she said sarcastically.

Dooku left her alone.

Tyra sighed. This sucked. Dooku hadn't even brought her breakfast. She should have asked for a bed. Or a pillow.

* * *

Aurine Brynar was not very happy about the way this mission was turning out. The four Jedi had gathered together for a brief meeting to discuss their next moves, interrupting the Padawans usual schedule of attending the Summit. Sascha had already seemed to have known that something had gone wrong last night, probably because he and Tyra were still very close. He had no idea of what _exactly_ had gone wrong though and the depth of the problem that faced them at the moment.

As the two Padawans entered the little apartment that she and Tiplee were renting, both young Jedi looked very sober and downcast, neither of them exhibited their usual enthusiasm.

The Jedi Knights got right to the point. After explaining what she had observed last night, Tiplee fell silent.

"So we have Teff inside with Dooku, which is good, and Tyra inside with Dooku, which is extremely bad," Aurine summarized. "What do we do?"

Sascha shook his head, "I'm not in any position to offer advice. My friendship with Tyra compromises my ability to offer rational options."

Nara nodded her head as well, "I'm in the same boat as Sascha. My heart tells me to do whatever it takes to rescue Dooku. But that's not a realistic option."

It was unlike both Padawans to simply pass the buck when presented with options, but Aurine applauded their maturity to come right out and say that they could not be trusted. "Thank you, Padawans. Tiplee, what do you think?"

Tiplee looked at the floor for a moment, "I think that we should do the irrational. We've been trying to out think Dooku, but he knows how we think. So lets not act like Jedi. Let's act like desperate parents trying to get their kid back. Let's just storm his compound and get Tyra out of there."

The normally placid Tiplee suggesting the most direct course of action took everyone in the room aback.

"We can't fight Dooku," said Nara, perhaps stating the obvious. "It's his home and he won't take kindly to being attacked."

"Then we don't fight him," said Tiplee. "He's still due to speak the the Summit tomorrow. So we know he'll be away from his home. That gives us a window to strike."

"But...it'll be the middle of the day," said Sascha. "People will see us."

"Does it really matter?" asked Tiplee. "We must think of the central fact. We cannot leave Tyra Harker in the hands of Count Dooku. For one, she threatens the cover of Teff Nal'ma. Second, we cannot leave a Jedi in the hands of Dooku. Three, Tyra may have important information for us to recover. And lastly," Tiplee paused, "We cannot let Dooku win. We must send a message that he Jedi Order is aware of what he is doing and will not stand for it."

"For all we know we are playing into Dooku's hands," Aurine pointed out

"We cannot be paralyzed because Dooku is smart," said Tiplee.

"We should contact the Temple and ask for instructions," she said, feeling lame even as she suggested the option.

"It will take us an hour to even explain our situation," repeated Tiplee. "Plus, Master Yoda warned us that we cannot trust anyone. We could contact the Temple and then put our whole mission in peril."

Aurine had to admit that Tiplee was right.

"Any objections to this plan?" Aurine asked.

Neither Padawan so much as twitched.

"So how do we do this smart?" she asked.

Sascha rubbed the back of his head, "Well, first thing is first, we need to make sure that Dooku doesn't get involved."

"So that means one of us will be assigned to keep him away from his home," Tiplee said. "Nara?"

"No," Nara said quickly. "Sascha is a better choice."

"I don't mind being a distraction," Sascha said with a small smile. "I'm also the best choice to go and get the _Emerald Dream_ ready for an immediate liftoff."

Aurine nodded at her apprentice. While she never liked to coddle Sascha, he was wise enough to know his limitations. Plus, he was the best pilot out of the four remaining Jedi.

"So that leaves myself, Tiplee and Nara to free Tyra," she said. "We will be going up against this...Ventress you talked about, I suppose?"

Sascha nodded, "She's a Force user, probably a which from Dathomir, which is odd because they don't tend to leave their planet very often. She's pretty dangerous, I would say."

"But no match for two Jedi Knights," said Tiplee.

"Yes, I suppose," he said. "But she is not to be underestimated. She's confident...and she's probably been trained by Dooku.

"We won't take her lightly," promised Aurine. "We understand that anyone who is with Dooku is dangerous."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Nara.

"You'll be with us," Tiplee said.

Nara nodded, and was silent again.

Aurine looked over at Tiplee, "Do you just want to do this the most direct way possible?"

Tiplee paused for a moment, scratching at her chin with a long, red, finger, "The quickest route is the most direct route. And we will need to be quick."

"Storming the gates of Dooku's estate seems a bit too direct," said Sascha.

"But it's something he won't expect," Aurine pointed out.

"I agree with that," said Sascha, smiling a little. At least his sense of humour was still in tact.

"So Sascha, your job will be to keep an eye on Dooku and keep him away from his estate. Inform us when he leaves the Summit and then make for the _Emerald Dream_ and wait for instructions," said Tiplee.

"Understood," said Sascha.

"As for the three of us women, we'll invade the compound, taking my speeder as transportation," said the Rishati. "Our primary goal will be the rescue of Tyra Harker. Secondary goals would include potential rescue of Teff Nal'ma, though I admit that it may be impossible to know if he is planning to remain undercover or not."

"That will be the toughest part," grimaced Aurine. "If Teff is truly committed to his ruse, and he is nothing if not committed, then he may oppose the rescue of his apprentice."

"We'll have to improvise," said Tiplee.

"Fun," muttered Nara.

"Everyone in agreement?" asked Tiplee.

The assembled Jedi nodded.

"Sascha, you'll go back to the Summit. If they ask about Nara, just say she is ill,"

Sascha nodded, "Good luck, Masters," he bowed slightly to Nara, "Good luck, Nara."

"There is no such thing as luck," replied Nara.

"Then I've done nothing wrong," Sascha quipped. "I'll be going now." She and Sascha shared one last look before her Padawan made his way out of their little apartment and back to the Summit.

Aurine looked at the other two Jedi, "Well, we have planning to do. And not much time to do it in."

* * *

After their discussion, Nara pulled her Master aside. "Master can I speak with you?"

"Always, Padawan," replied her Master, smiling a little at her. The two Jedi went to her tiny bedroom to talk.

Nara gathered her composure, took a deep breath and then spoke. "I've been having...thoughts...about Sascha," she admitted feeling really silly to be having this conversation.

"Is this really the time to be discussing this?" Tiplee asked, her eyes showing off a bit of amusement.

"I'm just...a bit confused," she admitted. "I think I have feelings for Sascha. And I think he has feelings for me. I'm just...not sure what to do."

"Do you want my advice as a Jedi Knight or my advice as a mentor?"

Nara stood there, a bit confused at what was happening in this conversation. "Can't I get both?"

"It is my advice as a Jedi that having feelings for a specific boy is difficult and confusing. As your mentor, I think that you and Sascha are an excellent pair and that you should pursue him."

"I...what?"

Tiplee smiled again, "Sascha Whitestar is a nice young man, one that would make an excellent boyfriend for you. I feel like you've had feelings for him for a long time, adding a little physical intimacy probably won't lead to any more attachment. You two are a good fit, you have my blessing to move forward."

"...move forward?"

Tiplee glanced at her fingernails, examining them for hidden dirt. Obviously she wasn't surprised to be having this conversation and considered it to be no big deal, "Discuss with Sascha first, of course. And after the mission too, this is no time for distractions."

Her Master started to walk away, but Nara put out her hand to stop her from leaving, "Wait, you are saying that you are okay with me...and Sascha?"

"I'm saying that you have already been emotionally involved with Sascha since...oh, about the time you became friends. I fail to see how adding a little kissing and cuddling could push you into attachment. You two have remained unattached despite your strong emotional bond. Just be careful, okay?"

Tiplee gave her a quick pat on the back and left her alone in her room, probably more confused than she had been just a minute ago.

But her heart seemed to leap at the idea that she and Sascha could..well...be something.

"Okay idiot, you can think about that once Tyra's safe, okay?" she muttered to herself.

Nothing mattered until the mission was over, Nara told herself.


	32. Chapter 32: Rescues, Part 1

**SpeechBubbleme** \- I think Tiplee's point would be this: Nara and Sascha have been close for years now, and their friendship has always been very close. But Nara and Sascha have never shown the same sort of attachment that Tyra and Sascha had shown. They have both 'loved' each other for awhile now (Nara even admitted it in an earlier chapter. They've never really shown attachment though, and I think Tiplee is right to maybe allow them this (of course, it could all go horribly wrong :P)

A/N - Nothing from me!

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Rescues, Part 1**

Sascha Whitestar had the 'simple' part of this mission. That didn't mean it was easy. It also didn't mean that he liked it.

His assignment was theoretically simple, but practically very hard. He had to keep an eye on Dooku, preferably keeping him far away from his estate as possible. Then, the moment that Dooku left, he had to get from the Summit to the spaceport where the _Emerald Dream_ was waiting. Simple enough.

Except...he couldn't make it too obvious that he was keeping tabs on Dooku. And if Dooku saw him acting suspicious, it wouldn't take too much brain power for him to figure out why he was acting that way.

So Sascha felt like he was walking a tightrope.

He wandered around the Glickly Convention Centre ostensibly to clear his head and to see if Dooku had made an early arrival. As he walked, he was stopped by Summit attendees, often in small groups, who wanted his opinion on various things. The Summit goers seemed to fall in two camps now. One that saw the Jedi as a force that could be courted and used for good (or their own purposes). The other group, which was thankfully smaller, had come away with the opinion that the Jedi were either outdated or in need of reforming. Both groups had no problem expressing their opinions to him...which was kind of nice, he supposed. But it did show that the stature of the Jedi Order was waning somewhat.

Sascha was deep in conversation with a pair of Mahran, when he heard a commotion from behind him. That could only mean one thing, the arrival of Count Dooku.

Sascha politely extracted himself from the conversation to confirm that it was indeed Dooku causing people to flow like a river in the direction of the door. Sometimes Sascha wondered if Dooku used magnets to draw people closer to him. But it was just power. He had seen it before, around celebrities and other people of power. There was a reason people were described as having a 'magnetic' personality. It wasn't because they were amazing conversationalists.

Still, he had a job to do, he surreptitiously pulled out his comlink and dialed his Master, "Dooku is here. You can go when you are ready."

"Understood," said the voice of his Master.

"May the Force be with you, Master," he said.

"Thank you, Padawan. Keep us informed." The comlink clicked off.

"I'll try," he muttered to himself, spotting Dooku heading further into the atrium of the building. Hopefully Dooku was going to be here for a while...

* * *

Aurine put her comlink back on her belt. Tiplee and Nara looked at her expectantly. "We are clear to go," she said.

"Let's go then," said Tiplee. "There is no time to waste."

The three Jedi emerged from their hiding spot where they had parked their speeder and started off towards Dooku's estate at a brisk job. Because Dooku's estate was, quite frankly, in the middle of nowhere, the closest hiding spot they had found for their speeder had been a good distance away from the front gates of Dooku's estate. Unfortunately that meant that the security detail that was guarding Dooku's estate would no doubt see them coming.

It wasn't as if the guards themselves were going to be a problem. It was mostly that they would slow down the rescue attempt and...worse, they could raise the alarm to Dooku himself. But Aurine knew that speed was going to be their ally. They would have taken their speeder right up to the front gates if they could have, but Aurine and Tiplee had suspected that driving a speeder up to the estate would draw a quicker reaction than three women who could easily be joggers that just got lost.

Aurine had worked up a good sweat in the midday sun when the first building from Dooku's estate came into view. It wasn't long after that she saw a speeder heading in their direction.

She quickly checked that the blaster that she had hidden under her clothing. It was still there, and it was still set to stun. All three Jedi were similarly equipped.

The armored speeder stopped up the road, and a tall, well-muscled human in dark, military style clothing stepped out, "Halt! You have entered a restricted area."

Aurine pulled out her blaster and shot him dead in the chest. The blue stun bolt hit the man, and pulsed all over his body. He dropped like a stone.

The rest of the guards in the speeder had two reactions. The driver decided that discretion was the better part of valour and hit the accelerator, sending the speeder careening off the path. Unfortunately for the driver, his other compatriots tried to exit the speeder and get at the 'attackers.' Given the movement of the speeder, the reinforcements spilled out of the speeder in an uncoordinated fashion.

The five guards of varying species were stunned by the Jedi before they even managed to fire a shot in return.

The driver, obviously panicking, tried to turn the speeder around to flee, but in his haste to escape, his speeder slipped off the narrow road and lost traction. Tiplee closed the gap to the speeder with freakish speed and by the time that the driver had managed to right the speeder, there was a large, angry looking Rishati on the windshield.

Moments later the driver had been hit by a stunbolt and all six guards had been subdued.

Aurine and Nara jogged up, firing another stunbolt into each guard so that they would be incapacitated for a longer period of time.

"Amateurs," Aurine observed.

"You'd think that Dooku could afford better," commented Tiplee.

"Lucky for us, he's cheap," she said. "Let's go. They'll be more guarding the front gate."

The Jedi jogged a bit quicker now, all three of them feeling that the invisible clock that they were up against had started ticking. The longer they took to rescue Tyra, the harder this was going to get. Speed was their ally.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the Glickly Convention Centre, Sascha Whitestar was doing his best not to seem like he was an awkward hanger on. Dooku had made it from the atrium to the main hall, where he would be the first guest speaker today at the Summit. Usually, Sascha would have been speculating on what Dooku's speech would be about, but right now, he didn't care. He just hoped the speech was unusually long winded.

Sascha looked over at the hall, which had been filled with seats for the speeches. He wanted to sit at the very end of the back row, but taking up a seat now would look suspicious. Well, more suspicious than he probably looked already. Fortunately the seats filled quickly as Dooku made his way to the front of the stage and Sascha was able to quickly snag a seat at the end of the row, which would allow him a quick exit, if he needed it.

After a quick introduction (why Dooku needed an introduction at all was beyond him), Dooku came to the front of the stage.

"Thank you for that very fine introduction," said Dooku gracefully. "I want to thank everyone that has came here today. I know that there are many distractions during as Summit such as this, and listening to someone give a speech may not sound like the most exciting moment, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I shall try to keep this short and sweet." Dooku looked down at his datapad, "I have not spoken much about my time as a Jedi Master, at least not publicly. But now, more than ever I feel like this is the time to open up and speak about my reasoning for leaving."

Sascha could feel many eyes from many different species suddenly shift in his direction. He wanted to shrink from the attention, but instead he met it stoically, refusing to change his expression at all.

Dooku continued, "My frustrations with the Jedi Order were many, and they were many within the Order that agreed with them...and many that wished that I would just shut up and go away. The Jedi Order, though it presents a united front to the world, is as rambunctious as any democracy in existence. I would have loved nothing more to spend my life within the Order, had I not come to the following conclusion."

Sascha continued to keep his stone-face visible to the world. But he was wondering why Dooku was telling this story now. Couldn't he have made it public at the beginning of the Summit?

"My conclusion was that the Jedi Order is flawed, but its flaws are not so severe that the Order itself is worth writing off. It's ways many may see as anachronistic, but they are often in place for the right reasons. The only problem with the Jedi is that they refuse to see what I believe is obvious. I believe the Republic no longer has the will of the Force behind it."

The audience audibly gasped and then murmured amongst itself for a few moments.

Dooku held his hands up and waited for the crowd to silence itself, which it eventually did. "The Republic and the Jedi Order once walked in lockstep, and both had the favour of the Force. Now, I believe that they are sliding from that."

"This is such bantha poodoo," Sascha muttered quietly under his breath. There was no such thing as an entire institution losing 'the favour of the Force'...whatever that was. It was something that sounded dire but had no actual meaning to any Jedi. However, Sascha could see that Dooku's arguments were affecting many of those around him. How could they know if the Republic had or had not lost the favour of the Force (if it even had it in the first place.).

But Dooku had the crowd in the palm of his hand, "So I wonder what I should do now. I've been inspired this week by the passion that you young people have for your planets and I believe that you can all contribute to a brighter future. But that future will be dimmed if the Republic continues to be the focus of your efforts, I fear they will go to waste."

Sascha kept up his impassive expression, but his mind was racing. Was Dooku going to advocate for the dissolution of the Republic? And what would he replace it with?

"I don't know if I can see the solution to the ills of the Republic quite yet, but I feel like I get closer to it every day," continued Dooku. "No matter what, I pledge to you today that I will never stop thinking about how to fix this malaise and what the solution might be, no matter how radical it may be. I will bring to you a better future."

Dooku brought his speech to an exclamation point, one of many that were to come hopefully. The crowd responded appreciatively, clapping and voicing approval in various different ways, according to their species.

Dooku looked like he was about to continue his speech when he looked down at what was fairly obviously an incoming call on his comlink. The Count front, glanced once at his comlink and then stepped away from the podium for a moment.

Sascha knew exactly what kind of message that Dooku must be receiving. His mind raced. Did he want to try to keep Dooku where he was, or did he want to race over to the landing bay where the _Emerald Dream_ was stored. He decided that he would try the former.

Dooku stepped back up to the podium, "It seems that I have a personal emergency that I must..."

"Count Dooku!" he shouted, using the Force to project his voice. "How can you be so reckless?"

Dooku paused and the returned to his podium, "I see you there, Padawan Whitestar. Speak your piece."

Sascha compiled his thoughts quickly, "I think that everyone needs to see the hypocrisy of your speech, Count. You say the Republic is losing the 'Will of the Force' but you aren't a Jedi anymore, Count. Perhaps it is _you_ who have lost the will of the Force."

"And how would an apprentice as yourself feel comfortable to make such a claim?" Dooku responded hotly.

"I don't speak for the Force. And neither do you, Count."

Dooku looked a bit furious. To Sascha like he looked like he was torn between two competing impulses, one to go back back to his estate and one to give a verbal beat down to the impetuous apprentice. He wondered which one was stronger.

It turned out that Dooku's ego was stronger.

"This was perhaps a conversation we should have had in public, Padawan Whitestar."

"Master Whitestar," Sascha interjected. "Members of the public usually call Jedi of any stripe _Master._ I am at least owed that courtesy."

The crowd quieted even further as Sascha directly challenged Dooku.

"Master Whitestar," Dooku gritted out. "This is something that an apprentice like you would not understand."

"Ah, only _Dooku_ knows when the Republic has lost the favour of the Force, is it?" he countered. "Not Master Yoda, not any of the other Jedi Masters on the Jedi Council, a honour which _you_ never received may I point out."

"The Jedi Council is blind to the truth!" shouted Dooku, losing his customary calm and control for a moment, "They cannot see what I do."

"Or maybe you are the only one that sees it, Count," Sascha said with a quick shrug of his shoulders. "Why should we trust you instead of the thousands of Jedi within the Order themselves?"

It was a good question for Dooku. Either he had to claim he was wiser and more powerful than all the Jedi put together or he had to find some sort of reasoning to justify his specious claim. It had taken Sascha quite a while, but he was finally going to get one over on Dooku it seemed.

"They should trust in my long decades of service to the people," Dooku said.

"But not Master Yoda's centuries of service," he countered quickly.

Dooku seemed to snarl slightly, but then his features softened and he turned he attention back to the crowd, "It is my opinion," Dooku glanced in his direction, "That the will of the Force has abandoned the Republic."

"If this is true, why don't you work with the Jedi to return the Republic to it's former status," countered Sascha doggedly. Sascha normally would have given up the arguement, but the longer he could keep Dooku here, the better chance that Tyra was going to be rescued. He would do pretty much anything for Tyra, including make himself a public spectacle.

"This really is a conversation for another time and venue," Dooku said, trying to take the high road.

There wasn't much more he could say to that without totally acting out of character, so he bowed slightly, "I look forward to it."

Dooku returned to his speech, but he seemed to be rushing through it. Sascha quietly got up and snuck out of the room. He had delayed as much as possible, it was time to get his ship ready to go.

* * *

Nara Nalto followed her Master and Aurine to the front gate of Dooku's estate. The walls of Dooku's estate prevented them from just racing in and getting to the buildings right away. It also gave Dooku's security forces a good point to defend from.

And defend they did, opening up on the approaching Jedi with blasters set on stun. The Jedi barely paused as they withdrew their lightsabers and deflected the incoming fire. The defenders paused for a moment as they realized that these were no ordinary attackers. To their credit the defenders resumed their fire quickly, but they were not numerous enough to really threaten the Jedi in any significant way.

Nara withdrew the blaster that she had taken from the stunned soldiers and began the process of gunning down the defending troops while Aurine and Tiplee gave her cover. Nara was not a particularly good shot amongst the Jedi that she knew, but Dooku's security forces were not particularly good soldiers, nor did they have amazing cover to hide from. With two Jedi Knights guarding her, Nara could pick her shots calmly.

After a minute or two it was over.

"Quickly," said Tiplee. "That won't keep them down for long."

The three Jedi quickly picked their way through the now unguarded gate and then paused.

"Nara," said Aurine. "See if you can find where Tyra is."

Nara concentrated, trying to search for her friend in the Force. It took a bit of searching, but she found Tyra's presence in the Force and made contact with her. Immediately, Tyra seemed to brighten up. Nara broke contact as soon as she got a good sense of where Tyra was. She opened her eyes and looked up at her Master and Aurine, "She's not far. She's in that building over there," she said, pointing her finger at a smaller building.

"Lets go," said Aurine. "Tiplee, you lead."

Her Master nodded, and the three Jedi sprinted in the direction which she had indicated Tyra was in.

The Jedi made their way to the building without incident. Nara took stock of their location. While the building they were about to enter was on the smaller side for Dooku's estate, it was still fairly large. Painted in reds and grays, it looked somewhat foreboding with its lack of windows. Aurine walked up to the door and tried to open it. Unsurprisingly it was locked.

The two Jedi Knights ignited their lightsabers and began cutting through the doorway while Nara kept a watch out for anyone silly enough to interfere with three Jedi. No one was.

After the door was dispatched, the Jedi clambered inside quickly. "Where is she?" asked Tiplee.

"Uh..." Nara concentrated. "Left. She's not that far."

Lightsabers lit, the three Jedi moved cautiously through the building, which seemed to be used for storage. However, once they were inside, it became harder for Nara to figure out exactly which hallway would lead to wherever Tyra was being held. The Jedi walked down one hallway, only to find that it was a dead end. They doubled back to the main hallway, when they saw that they were not alone in this building.

Standing in the hallways was the 'Ventress' that Sascha had clearly been describing. Of average height with a slim build, Ventress really just looked...dangerous. Dressed in a long, flowing skirt, the Dathomirian was a stark contrast to the person standing next to her...Teff Nal'ma.

"Greetings, Masters," said Teff. "I suspected that you would try to rescue my apprentice. However this is something that I cannot allow."

Nara's mouth fell open a little. Was Teff just playing a role? Or had he gone over to Dooku's side? And in the end...did it really matter?

"Master Nal'ma," said Tiplee. "I'm going to give you one chance. You will allow us to remove Tyra Harker from this premises, or we will remove her by force."

"My apprentice will be staying here," said Teff. "And if you want to remove her...I'm sorry, but my associate Asajj Ventress and I will be forced to stop you. I ask you to remove yourselves from Count Dooku's property, which you have entered illegally, and go back to Republic space."

"You know we cannot," said Tiplee.

"Good," purred Ventress. "This should be fun."

Ventress ignited a lightsaber, which Nara identified as Tyra's. While Teff ignited his own.

The three Jedi brought their own blades to bear.

Tiplee turned to her, "Nara, go and get Tyra. We'll hold them off."

Nara nodded. She really wanted to be involved in the fight, but she knew that she was not as good in combat as the two Jedi Knights. Plus, her connection with Tyra made her the best choice to find her.

Nara watched as the two Jedi Knights charged into combat. Ventress gave ground and then smartly parried Tiplee's attack. Aurine hacked at Teff, showing absolutely no remorse. The lightsabers bound together and Aurine used her strength to press the blades towards Teff. Nara would have loved to stay, but she had been given an assignment, so she darted past the dueling Tiplee and Ventress. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ventress look to try to slip in her direction, but her Master smoothly cut her off, letting Nara get by.

Nara hustled and made a left turn at the first opportunity. She took a few steps down the new hallway, turned and saw a pair of ray-shielded doors. The first one she looked at was empty. The second one contained Tyra Harker.

Tyra smiled when she saw her, and indicated with her hands to cut through the wall beside the door instead of looking to see if she could get the ray-shield down. Tyra was hopping on one leg, it looked like she had damaged her leg during her capture. She plunged her lightsaber through the metal and cut herself an opening. After a minute of exertions (cutting through metal was hard work, even _with_ a lightsaber), she cut her way through. She pushed the door that she had cut in and then walked into Tyra's temporary prison.

"Hey Tyra," she said.

Tyra surprised her by launching into a hug. "I'm so happy to see you, Nara."

Nara returned the hug, "How's your leg? Can you walk?"

Tyra looked down at her leg, "I think I tore a ligament in my knee. I can't really walk."

Nara evaluated the situation, "Yeah, we gotta be quick. Tiplee and Aurine are fighting Ventress and Teff. Dooku's gotta know that we busted into his place by now, so we gotta make sure that we get out before he comes back."

Tyra hobbled towards the exit, "So you are saying a lot can still go wrong."

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Nara replied. It was going a bit _too_ well so far...


End file.
